Deceptive Appearances
by Jettara1
Summary: When a plan to get Hiccup out of the way goes wrong, Viggo is stuck dealing with the consequences in more ways than he ever bargined for. Now the riders are in a race against time to save Hiccup, fix what happened and stop Krogan. Meanwhile, Dagur must learn exactly what it means to be a big brother and protector.
1. Chapter 1

Viggo was not the superstitious type. He did not believe in magic or spells or curses. He was practical, a man of business. He knew the worth of every dragon, the rare and elusive ones that fetched a small fortune, the common ones used for their skins and food, the ones that made the best weapons. He knew the value of every jewel and coin. These were things he was raised to understand and held dear. People rarely meant anything to him. They were disposable once their proposes were served. So when Krogan, a man he had considered practical as well, had suggested they speak to a wise woman about an alternate way of dealing with the riders he was a little more than reluctant. Quite frankly Viggo would rather study the Dragon Eye but he was practically dragged along. It couldn't hurt. So far nothing they had done had been effective enough to make a real impact.

He wasn't expecting to meet a Völva, a witch, and he scoffed at the very idea of her being of any help. As far as he was concerned it was a waste of time that could be better used planning their next move against the riders. But she knew things, things that Viggo had told no one, and she knew who Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was. She told tales of the boy that made little sense. Viggo had to admit he was intrigued but thought it all a fairy tale. He knew the legends of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the First and Second but they were just stories.

She gave them a vial containing a powerful potion that she promised would make Hiccup defenseless and harmless, but only temporarily. Viggo rolled his eyes in annoyance. A simple drugged dart could do the same. He was less than impressed.

The next battle was typical. The Dragon Riders swooped in and the Flyers countered. Viggo watched from a distance, his gaze solely on the Nightfury and its young rider. He admired the boy. Hiccup was quick witted, brilliant even. What Viggo wouldn't give to have the boy on their side. He could use another bright mind that matched his own. Hiccup had so much potential and it was wasted on protecting dragons. If only Hiccup was born a Hunter. All those wonderful inventions would be put to better use capturing dragons. But that was not meant to be and unless he could find a way to neutralize Hiccup, Krogan was likely to kill him, and Hiccup's death was not what Viggo wanted at the moment. For now he had to hope the Völva had not tricked them and the potion she had given Krogan worked. The battle was going well, the fliers concentrating on the riders while Krogan focused solely on Hiccup. Two fliers flanked him, attempting to drive the Nightfury in the direction they wanted it to go. Their Singetails fired repeatedly but their aim for once wasn't to harm – not that they ever had a clear shot with how quickly Hiccup and his Nightfury moved – but it was enough to get Hiccup close enough to Krogan. Viggo watched in a mix of horror and fascination as they tried to dodge Krogan but the bounty hunter was the best of his kind and as soon as they were close enough Krogan attacked.

It wasn't a traditional attack. Krogan shot a blow dart. His timing was perfect. Hiccup jerked back in surprise as the needle hit him in the arm between his should guard and bracer. A second caught him in the neck as Toothless veered to the left. A third just missed him.

The effects were immediate. Hiccup began to list in the saddle. He tilted dangerously to the left, his mind clouding as the drug moved into his system. He shook his head, trying to fight it and right himself but it was no use. He passed out, his body becoming limp and no longer able to control Toothless's tail rutter.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled as Toothless banked and tried to get higher in the air without his rider's help. But with his tailfin stuck in one position he could only get so far and not nearly as fast as he needed to. He began to plummet toward the ground below.

"On it!" yelled Dagur, swooping in on Sleuther. He jumped up onto his saddle and balanced carefully as they sped toward Hiccup and Toothless. "Steady…now!" He jumped from Sleuther to Toothless, landing in the saddle directly behind his brother and quickly took control of the foot stirrups. The tailfin opened and Toothless was able to gain control. "Let's get out of here," he told the Nightfury as he wrapped an arm around Hiccup's waist to keep him from slipping off. With his free hand he removed the darts, angrily flicking them at the nearest flier. "Why can't you stay out of trouble for more than five minutes?" he grumbled to Hiccup as he guided the two dragons back to the other riders.

Astrid looked pale with worry but when Dagur nodded that Hiccup was okay, she called a retreat and within moments the riders fled back to Dragon's Edge.

Viggo watched them silently as Kragon landed next to him. "You managed to hit him, I take it," Viggo said, not asking but stating an obvious fact.

"Twice," Kragon confirmed, dismounting and standing next the scarlet Singetail. "The third missed."

"I noticed. You never miss," Viggo pointed out, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I've never had an opponent like this Hiccup. It's quite refreshing. A pity when I finally kill him."

Viggo frowned. He had plans for Hiccup. His death was not one of them. Turning had his heel, he headed back to their camp. "If this works he will not be an issue until long after I've unlocked the Dragon Eye's secrets. We will find the King of Dragons."

"I hope. He won't stay patient much longer," Krogan grumbled. "We can't afford anymore delays."

. . .

Hiccup regained consciousness shortly before the riders landed on the Edge. His head was muddled and he felt nauseous. It took a moment or two to come to his senses enough to realize Dagur was behind him with one beefy arm wrapped around his waist. He blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings. He was still on Toothless, Dagur was seated behind him, holding him in the saddle while controlling Toothless's tailfin. He gave a small pitiful groan as he lifted his head. That wasn't good. He felt as if he might throw up on poor Toothless's head.

"Don't move too much," Dagur warned, gently pushing Hiccup back down and rubbing his back. "You got down hit by a tranquilizer. It's going to make you feel like Hel for the better part of the day."

"Feelzz ike I whaz hit by Rum-el-on," Hiccup slurred, blinking rapidly.

"Hiccup, don't talk," Astrid called, flying slight below and to the right of them.

It made Hiccup even sicker trying to watch her. His stomach churned and he closed his eyes. Okay, flying wasn't good right now. He hadn't had motion sickness in years but man did he feel bad.

"He doesn't look good," Fishlegs stated.

Even hearing voices was making things worse.

"Let's get him home and into bed. I should have some ginger to help calm his stomach," Heather offered. "Can make it into a tea."

"Sounds good," Hiccup mumbled, nuzzling into black scales.

"He says it sounds good," Dagur called it his sister. He continued to rub gentle circles on Hiccup's back. He had never seen Hiccup so sick before and instantly felt bad for throwing away the darts rather than keeping them to find and antidote. He prayed whatever it was wasn't deadly. Whatever it was had a bad effect on Hiccup. It had to be poison. When they reached the Edge, Dagur didn't wait for anyone. He took Hiccup directly to his hut, helped him up to his loft and tucked him into help, only pausing long enough to remove his armor and prosthetic leg.

Astrid and Fishlegs took over after that. There was no fever but Hiccup remained weak and nauseous. Heather made the ginger tea which helped calm him stomach while Fishlegs placed warm poultices over the wounds in hopes of drying out the poison. Everyone expected the worse, the memory of Odin's curse still fresh in everyone's minds. But Hiccup didn't grow pale or deathly blue. He was a little green until his stomach settled, motion sickness having been at fault and not the poison. Nonetheless, Astrid stayed with him until the fear of something bad happening passed and everyone came to the conclusion it had been a side effect or the tranquilizer and Hiccup had simply had a bad reaction to it. She checked on him constantly, as did Fishlegs and Heather and Dagur, each taking time to watch over him until they were certain he was alright.

Except things weren't alright.

When Astrid went to check on Hiccup in the morning his door was locked. Hiccup never locked his door. Fear immediately filled her. She still had issues trusting Dagur and sometimes feared the Berserker would betray them and attack Hiccup when they least expected it. Biting back that fear she rapped on the door.

"Hiccup?" she called, hopeful he was okay.

He wasn't that far behind the door. "Astrid?" came a slightly higher than normal pitched voice. "Uh…hi Astrid."

"Hi to you too, babe," she responded, confused. "Why is the door locked? Are you feeling better?"

There was some shuffling on the other side.

"Hiccup? How about you open the door so we can talk properly. Heather made breakfast." That usually got him up and going. He loved Heather's cooking.

"Uh…I'd rather not do that," he answered, making her worry more. "Can you…can you get Fishlegs for me? I need Fishlegs. " There was a catch in his voice that only made Astrid worry more.

"Okay," she said softly. She worried her lower lip for one moment before hurrying off to find Fishlegs. At least he was easy enough to find. He was helping Heather with breakfast. Astrid didn't bother explaining what was wrong. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to Hiccup's hut, his vast size not bothering her in the least. "Something's wrong. He won't let in but wants you."

Fishlegs stared at her in confusion before shrugging her off and knocking on Hiccup's door. "Hiccup, you okay?"

"Are you alone?" came the answer.

Fishlegs glanced at Astrid. The girl threw up her arms in annoyance before stomping away. "Yeah, she's headed for the clubhouse. Are you going to let me in?"

For a moment Hiccup didn't answer. Then the lock disengaged and door slowly slid upward. It wasn't Hiccup controlling it but Toothless. The dragon looked just as confused as Fishlegs. He nodded toward the other side of the main room and Fishlegs followed his gaze to the figure sitting in the flickering firelight of the hearth, looking timid and confused.

Fishlegs's jaw dropped. "Oh my Thor!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup sat still as Fishlegs poked and prodded him. Toothless was on his left, cooing and purring at him as he tried nuzzling. Hiccup gently pushed his muzzle away. The dragon had already thoroughly groomed him after waking up to this nightmare, he didn't need another tongue bath. "Tell me you know how to fix this," he pleaded, unable to stop the catch in his voice or the small whine. This couldn't be happening. How could he possibly let the others see him like this.

"I don't even know how this is possible. Fascinating…truly fascinating," Fishlegs admitted at a complete loss. He sat back on his heels and inspected his friend. "Maybe we should go to Berk and have Gothi look you over."

"How about we bring Gothi here?" Hiccup countered. He did not want anyone to see him like this.

Fishlegs looked him in the eye. "Hiccup, the chances of her having a cure are very slum. We'd have to bring and every book in her library for research. It'll be easier if we go to her."

"I'm not going out there like this," Hiccup insisted, hugging himself. This was completely embarrassing. No one would ever take him seriously. What about Astrid? Oh gods…this was a nightmare.

"If you don't, you may be stuck like this…or it can get worse."

"How can it possibly get worse than this?" There was a whine in Hiccup voice now and no matter how much he tried he couldn't get rid of it. He felt like crying. He hated feeling like he was going to cry.

Fishlegs squeezed his knee gently, careful of the stump that was currently missing it's prosthetic. "It'll be okay. Everyone is already worried. If you stay here they'll just worry more. Let's just get this out or the way then head to Berk and see Gothi." He didn't wait for Hiccup to answer. He gave Toothless a nod then headed to the door. There was a whine of objection but for once Fishlegs wasn't worried about hurt feelings. This was serious and the others had a right to know otherwise they couldn't help their leader.

All the riders were waiting outside Hiccup's hut, each one looking worried as they anxiously waited to learn what was wrong with Hiccup. Fishlegs gave a cough as he stepped outside to address them. "So…uh…it seems whatever Krogan hit Hiccup with…uhm…had some strange side effects." He scratched the back of his neck and glanced behind him. "I'm not sure how to explain this but…Tooth, bring him out, boy."

Astrid stepped forward, prepared to deal with anything that may have befallen Hiccup. Snotlout and the Twins stayed close while Dagur stepped forward, ready to help drag his brother out of the hut. He would normally follow Hiccup's move now that they were working together but there was something not right when Toothless had to drag Hiccup out.

Except Toothless didn't drag their reluctant leader out, he carried a small teenager roughly fifteen years old.

"What in the name of Loki…" Dagur breathed, instantly recognizing Hiccup as he was four years ago.

"Hiccup?" Astrid breathed in shock.

"No way!" Tuffnut gasped.

"Wow…mini Hiccup," Ruffnut echoed.

"Does this mean I'm the leader now?" Snotlout asked, trying to lighten the mood even as his stomach churned.

Fishlegs glared at him before squaring his shoulders and taking charge. "Whatever Krogan hit Hiccup with has caused him to…well…get younger. So far he's regressed about four years since yesterday afternoon. I don't know how far he'll regress but at this rate, four years in approximately sixteen hours, he might become an infant in about sixty hours or just over two and a half days."

"What?" everyone cried out.

Hiccup buried his face against the back of Toothless's head with a groan. "There has to be a way to stop this," he muttered.

"Okay…okay…" Tuffnut suddenly said. "So then what? He becomes a baby and what?"

"He dies, moron," Ruffnut snaps. "It's not like he can go back in his mom and be reborn or something. She's dead."

"Thanks guys, like I needed to be reminded of that," Hiccup grumbled, finally calming down now that his secret was out. He sighed and sat back. His stomach gave a rumble, reminding him he had yet to eat breakfast let alone dinner the night before. He blushed deeply.

"Whatever the cause, we'll deal with it AFTER he eats," Dagur proclaimed, taking charge and picking Hiccup up off of Toothless. "Come on, there's lots of food left. We came running when Astrid said there was a problem. I guess she was right."

"I can walk," Hiccup snapped before realizing he couldn't, not without his prosthetic. He gave a growl of annoyance then wrapped his arms around Dagur as the Berserker hefting him up a little higher in his arms. "Thanks."

Dagur nodded. "Yeah, I think Toothless is in shock, too. That or he's going to spend the rest of the day grooming you until you're back to the right size." He gave a little chuckle as he sat his now littler-than-normal brother at the head of the table. "Were you always so light? You're even more small and cuddly!"

The boy stuck out his lower in a pout. "You're not helping."

Dagur ruffled his hair. "If you keep getting younger the small and cuddly part will get worse," he warned as Heather brought him a plate of food.

"How do you feel?" Astrid asked, kneeling next to him. She took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How is this possible?"

Everyone began talking, giving their own theories, some of which were so insane that Hiccup was sure he had wondered into some alternate reality. Worse, they were all talking over him, as if he wasn't even there. He tried talking but no one listened. He hated this. It was like when he was a kid, ignored by everyone and barely thought of as more than a nuisance. He was still their leader, regardless of his size.

"Enough!" he screamed, hoping to be heard.

"We're taking to Berk," Astrid said firmly before Hiccup could counter her command. Her blue gaze turned to Hiccup and she gave a soft smile when she saw his anger. "Hiccup, it would take too long to get Gothi and bring her here. Sixty hours isn't much time."

"It's an estimate," Hiccup's objected. "I may not get any younger. What if this is it?"

"What if it's not?" she countered. "Babe, it's for your own good. You don't even have a peg leg that fits…and won't the younger you get. Unless you want Toothless and Dagur carrying you around everywhere."

Hiccup's face fell and he bit back the retort he had prepared. She was right. Without his leg he was helpless. He couldn't even fly Toothless without the stupid prosthetic. "Okay, fine. I just don't anyone seeing me like this."

"Ha-ha!" Snotlout laughed in glee. "I've got just the thing." He rushed out of the clubhouse.

"Please don't be one of those stupid blonde wigs," Astrid pleaded.

"He actually kept those," Dagur asked in surprise, a large hand falling in Hiccup's small shoulder.

The boy poked at his food. "He's actually been making money selling them. I no idea how many he still has. Why couldn't you take them when you took Johann's treasures?" he asked. He still couldn't believe his cousin had gone back for the wigs.

And of course that was exactly what Snotlout had gone for. He immediately shoved one on Hiccup head and began fussing with it while Hiccup tried escaping. Of course without his prosthetic and now being almost half Snotlout's size where only yesterday he was taller. By the time Snotlout was done, Hiccup could pass for the Twins little brother. He gave a huff and leaned on his elbows as he glared at the flames of the hearth fire, desperately trying to ignore the braids that hung around his ears and seemed to weigh a ton. At least it didn't smell like fish oil. The last thing he needed was to look AND smell like the Twins.

"Ah…isn't he adorable?" Ruffnut cooed. "All that's missing is a helmet."

"Oh, oh! I have a spare!" Tuffnut shouted before running off.

Hiccup gave a groan and thunked his head against the table. "How about clothes that fit?" he asked, talking more to himself than the others. He was surprised when Dagur turned him around in his chair and began rolling up his sleeves and pant legs without saying so much of a word in explanation. Hiccup flexed his toes. Not even his boot fit anymore. It fell off the moment it was no longer tangled in his pant leg. He stared at it laying on the floor and felt tears well up in his eyes. This wasn't happening. It was impossible.

"No…no, don't cry," Dagur said, wiping at the corners of Hiccup's eyes. There was concern and fear in the Berserker's green eyes. He pulled the wig off Hiccup and threw it aside. "This thing is stupid. Regardless what happened you're still our Hiccup. You need to hide. We can just say you're our little cousin or something. We can even get away with the little brother still. No one knows any better other than your Dad so…"

"Dagur…"

"Hear me out. We can hit up Johann or the Northern Market and get some better fitting clothing," Dagur continued, stroking Hiccup's arms and keeping his voice gentle and strangely soothing which was much more helpful than the riders at the moment. "We'll fix this. And you may be right. This could end at any moment and it might even be temporary. But we need to take you to Berk so no more sass, got it?" A small grin lifted his lips. "Even though sass is your specialty."

"What do you do when you meditate?" Hiccup asked bluntly.

"And there's the sass," Dagur pointed out, very serious. He tapped Hiccup's chest, making the boy look down, then flicked his nose with a little laugh before standing. "I can't believe that actually works. I got Gustav last week."

Hiccup rolled his eyes in annoyance. Gobber had stopped doing that to him when he was ten. He wiped at his nose and leaned against the table again. Yep, this royally sucked if Dagur was teasing him. If this was what it was like to have big brother then he was better off an only child.

"Johann's actually due in today," Fishlegs noted with a bit of excitement. "He's bound to have something. Or we can take in your clothes a bit until we get to Berk. Gustav may have something your size."

"Or my sister will," Snotlout offered.

"I can always hem your clothes," Heather threw in, her hand on Astrid's arm.

Hiccup sighed. He was so done with this. He already went through puberty, he didn't want to go through that again. Maybe Gothi could fix him. Aging backwards didn't sound any fun. And what about Astrid? They were betrothed. She couldn't marry a child. And what if he did return to an infant state? Would he die? The very thought made him sick. And his left leg was beginning to ache. Almost as if it was on fire.

He remembered this pain. He had felt it with every coming storm. But this was something more. Something he barely remembered feeling during the battle against the Red Death. His mind wandered, no longer hearing what his friends were saying. He remembered falling off Toothless while the Red Death plummeted toward the earth, it's tail knocking Hiccup off his beat friend. There were flames all around them. Toothless chased after him and into the flames. The heat was unbearable, it stole Hiccup's breath. He tried reaching for Toothless but conscious fled from him. He remembered something sharp snagging his left calf then searing pain and the sound of something snapping, the crack of bones breaking and then the world went from red to white to black as agony filled him.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed as the youth toppled out if his chair.

Tuffnut caught him, the helmet he just brought in clanging on the floor. "H? Hey, H? Hiccup, wake up!" He began to panic, looking at the others for help. "What happened? What's wrong with him?"

Astrid took her betrothed from the male twin and lifted him into her arms with ease. "I don't know. Fishlegs, send a Terror Mail to Stoick. Tell him we have a problem and to have Gothi ready. Don't tell him what just yet. The rest of you saddle up. We're going to meet up with Johann and see if he has anything to counter this…or at least slow it down until we can reverse it." She held Hiccup close to her chest. Either her eyes were playing tricks with her or Hiccup looked even younger.

Unfortunately, leaving the Edge proved much harder than expected. Hiccup didn't wake up right away and his condition turn an unexpected turn that no one could find an explanation for. They had to wait for Johann and pray that Stoick and Gothi could come to them.


	3. Chapter 3

He wiggled all ten toes in the warm sand. Ten toes. He had ten toes and two feet and the sand was warm under them. The cool sea washed against them as it rolled in, coming up to mid calf. He had two legs. He had forgotten what it felt like to have two whole legs. The small hairs on the rose as the water washed over, cool and refreshing. For once the cool water felt good even though he hated the cold.

Hiccup kicked out his left foot, spraying water up the beach toward Dagur who was watching him a few dozen feet away and gave a small laugh at the frown his brother gave him.

"Don't go so deep," the Berserker warned but Hiccup only laughed and kicked water toward Toothless who was happily splashing around with him.

Dagur shook his head in bemusement. He couldn't remember the last time he heard Hiccup laugh like that, a sound of pure childish delight. Not even before they went to war years ago. He was pretty sure Hiccup had never made such a sound in his presence before, at least not since he was a toddler. He absently wondered if that was his fault, if he had been the one to cause Hiccup to shy away when they were young. Of course it had been him, Dagur had caused a lot of people to fear him and think he was deranged rather than trying to be friendly and the big brother he should have been. Things would have been different for both of them if he took the big brother role to heart as he often tried to claim. Pulling his knees to his chest, he hugged them as he watched Hiccup and Toothless chase after each other. Were the two always so carefree or was this due to Hiccup de-aging? How much of Hiccup's mind was still an adult? It seemed when they talked he was still talking to a grown up Hiccup with a slightly higher pitched and more noticeably nasally voice. It left Dagur wondering if the boy was drawing air in properly or if their was an issue with his lungs, something he had never taken into consideration before, but now as he thought back to his youth he remembered Hiccup often being short of breath and never being able to keep up to him. He had thought Hiccup weak but maybe it was a medical condition he grew out of. Would he grow back into it now that he was growing younger? Dagur hated not knowing and even meditation wasn't helping him stay calm and focused. If anything, he felt trapped and scared by not knowing what was going on or how to fix it. Hiccup was his brother, it was his job to protect him but this was not something he could protect the Hooligan heir from.

A slim warm hand descended on his shoulder and he nearly yelled in shock. He hated to be surprised but was instantly grateful when Astrid handed him a tankard of mead.

"Thanks," he murmured, downing the drink. He had cut back on his drinking after leaving the Hunters and committing to bettering himself, but he needed the mead to steady his nerves at that moment.

She smiled and sat next to him. "No problem," she answered, her gaze on Hiccup. "I've never seen him so carefree."

"Being turned into a child and having your leg magically grow back can do that, I guess."

She nodded, still uncertain how this could have happened. "I T-mailed Stoick. I didn't give him specifics but told him we should be at Berk late tonight and the have Gothi researching aging spells. He'll probably figure it has something to do with Hiccup on his own and meet us halfway but…I just didn't know how else to word it."

Dagur shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"You okay?"

For long moment he didn't answer, just watched Hiccup and Toothless play. "I'm a horrible big brother," he confessed. "First sending Heather away and then torment Hiccup most of his childhood. Then the whole thing with the dragons…"

"You were a kid. A messed up kid but still a kid," Astrid soothed. They weren't really friends, didn't really like each other, but Astrid had made her own fair share of mistakes when it came to Hiccup, especially when they were children.

"You sound like him," Dagur mused, nodding toward Hiccup. The kid was now soak and wet from head to toe and Dagur was happy he had the foresight to cut a worn pair of Ruffnut's tights into shorts. It had seemed ridiculous at the time but she was the only one with narrow enough hips and waste to come even close to Hiccup's size…little Hiccup that is.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked, tucking a strain of hair behind her right ear. "I guess that's what happens when you spend so much time with some you love."

The Berserker chief hummed softly to himself. He wish he knew what that felt like. But he wasn't given much chance to dwell on it when Toothless knocked Hiccup butt first into the water and began grooming him. "Tooth, no tongue baths! It's going to take forever to get the slobber!" But of course Hiccup was squealing in laughter and even Astrid gave a giggle of delight.

"Let them be," she reprimanded, thoroughly amused. "Just think of all the folder we'll have when he's back to his proper age. Hiccup will never be able to live this down."

Dagur assumed she was right. Hiccup was having a good time. He really shouldn't take that away from them, but something on the horizon caught his attention, a familiar ship headed toward the pier. "Johann," he announced with relief. "Hiccup, Johann's here."

The boy froze in the water then rolled onto his belly, Toothless still grooming his hair, and looked at Dagur with wide eyes. "Johann?" he called back and for a moment

Dagur wasn't sure if the boy remembered who Johann was. There seemed to be a bit of confusion on the boy's face. The younger Hiccup got the more he seemed to forget his grown up self it seemed. Right now he was only twelve or thirteen – it was hard to tell because Hiccup had been very small for his age as a child, he could even be fourteen but Dagur was very unsure, he was considerably smaller than Gustav either way. Every since his left leg magically reappeared he had been in his own little world. But then Hiccup's eyes brightened and he scrambled to his feet with just as much grace and clumsiness as he had at that age.

"Awesome! You think he brought me some more ink?" Hiccup chirped, bouncing up to Dagur and Astrid.

"Perhaps," Dagur said, standing. He offered Astrid a hand. She was hesitant for a moment before accepting it and standing as well. "Is that what you asked him for?" Dagur continued, unsure how to address Hiccup. He didn't want to talk down to Hiccup but at the same time it was hard to address him as an adult.

A perplex look crossed Hiccup's face. "I don't remember. But he always brings me ink and has an amazing story to tell."

Astrid's mouth fell open. Hiccup had outgrown Johann's stories years ago. "I'm sure he'll have a special one just for you," she said, trying to sound cheerful but there was no missing the catch in her voice.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

She gave a nod but he was obviously not buying it. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her, his head falling against her breasts. "It's okay. It's going to be okay," he promised, although it was hard to imagine how.

She gave him a hug back. "I know, babe," she lied, bending low to cuddle him a little, but the look she gave Dagur was a pained one.

It was a little surreal walking toward the pier. Hiccup took Astrid's hand and for a while they walked side by side like that, their linked hand swaying slowing back and forth. Dagur walked next to them, his mind slipping from the past to the future and what Hiccup's child might look like holding his mommy's hand. But then Hiccup reached out for his hand. Dagur stared at his little hand in surprise and once again he was lost trying to figure out the boy's age. Perhaps he was only ten or eleven and Fishlegs was wrong about the timing. Perhaps Hiccup was de-aging much faster then first estimated. Hesitantly, he wrapped his large hand around Hiccup's much smaller one. Astrid gave Dagur a questioning look but said nothing against him hold Hiccup's hand as well. But she did bite her lower lip and Dagur was pretty sure he caught a shimmer of the beginning of tears. Toothless wobbled behind them, either asking what was wrong with Astrid or talking to Hiccup. It was Hiccup who answered.

"I need to build a new for us to fly, bud," he said, kicking at the sand, enjoying the feel of it between his toes. "I can do it after Johann leaves. The stirrups need to be higher so I can reach them."

"Hiccup," Astrid sighed. "You should be wearing boots. I don't want you hurting your feet."

"I can carry him," Dagur offered.

Hiccup shook his head. "I like walking bare feet. There's no snow here…except up there." He nodded toward the volcano.

"Well no new saddles until we figure out what's happening to you."

The boy gave a bought. "You're mean."

A small smirk lifted one corner of Dagur's mouth. "So I heard."

It earned him a rare smile from Astrid. This felt so weird, Dagur concluded as they reached the pier, Hiccup now swinging between them. He remembered doing the same thing with his parents when he was much younger than Hiccup was now. It was strangely soothing in a way and before Dagur knew what he was doing he was swinging Hiccup a little higher.

"What are you doing?" Astrid screeched, immediately stopping him and pulling Hiccup into her arms. "You're going to hurt him."

"We were having fun," Hiccup objected, trying to pull away.

Dagur was floored. He stared at her wide eyed and then at Hiccup. "I'm sorry…I didn't think. I…I gotta go," he said, quickly retreating to the stables. He shouldn't be the one looking after Hiccup. He didn't know anything about kids. What did know about caring for one? He should go back to his island and focus on caring for his own tribe.

"Dagur!" Hiccup yelled, pulling away from Astrid. Bright emerald eyes met Dagur's. "Don't go."

The Berserker opened his mouth to explain but those eyes, that face, they were so compelling and without a second thought, Dagur smiled and nodded, taking Hiccup's hand once more. It felt so small but comforting at the same time.

It didn't last long as the Twins swooped in. Tuffnut immediately jumped off Belch and before either Astrid or Dagur could stop him, he scooped up Hiccup and twirled him. "There's my squirt! Excited to see Johann?"

"Yep!" The boy giggled and next thing Dagur knew, Tuffnut was racing off with the child.

"Tuff!" Astrid yelled after them but Ruffnut had raced off with them, their dragon trailing behind while Toothless gave chase. "If he gets hurts, I'm going to kill them," she sneered.

"Not if I get to them first," Dagur growled, not impressed.

They hurried after the Twins to the small merchant boat docking at the pier. When they got there Tuffnut was already showing off Hiccup while his sister was browsing the new merchandise. Fishlegs, Heather and Snotlout flew in moments later on their dragons.

To say Johann was shocked by Hiccup's sudden youth was an understatement. He stares at the boy for a long time before shaking off his shock and kneeling down to get to the boy's new height. "Master Hiccup?" he asked, unable to conceal his surprise.

"Hi Johann, did you bring more ink?" Hiccup said, getting straight to the point as he always did.

Johann blinked. "Ink? Well yes, I did bring you some. I also brought the maps you requested," the trader said, confused that Hiccup, regardless of his new youth, would forget such an important thing. He glanced toward Astrid. "Mistress Astrid, what exactly has happened to ah…young Master Hiccup, here?" He stood and placed a hand on the child's shoulder, needing the physical touch to prove Hiccup was indeed the boy before him. The child looked remarkably like him but the fact he had both legs made him question his own eyes.

"Krogan hit him with some potion or something to reverse his aging," Snotlout answered for Astrid, surprising everyone. "What? That's what happened."

"It is," Astrid confirmed. "It's been a weird morning. We're heading to Berk soon but I was hoping you had some boots and clothes that might fit him…for now at least. Enough to keep him warm on the flight."

The trader gazed back down at Hiccup in awe. "I may have something. Let's see what I have in the hold." Taking Hiccup's hand, he led the boy and Astrid into the bowels of his ship.

Dagur and Fishlegs followed. Fishlegs chattered on about what had happened and how they were hoping to find a cure and even asking if Johann had ever heard of such a thing happening to anyone before. Dagur, on the other hand, kept an eye on Hiccup. He didn't trust Johann. He hadn't for a while. It could be because he once stole the trader's ship after breaking out of prison and was still expecting the man to seek some sort of revenge. Whatever it was, his gut twisted at the sight of Johann chit chatting with Hiccup as if the boy was really a child. Somehow he always had just what someone needed. This time it just happened to be a heavy fur wrap and a pair of small boots that were only two sizes too big.

"An extra pair of socks will help keep them on your feet," Johann said, trying to put them on Hiccup's feet only for the child to hide his feet.

"I'll bare them later," Hiccup promised, enjoying his bare feet.

Johann looked to Astrid for guidance but she shrugged. He looked back to Hiccup. "Alright, but it's getting cold. The north winds are growing. It may be wise to wait another day or two before heading back to Berk."

"We don't have a day or two," Dagur said firmly. He lifted Hiccup up, noticing again the softer features as the boy lost another right before their eyes. It was happening too fast. He let the other gather whatever Johann had that was useful and headed back toward the clubhouse. At this rate they weren't going to make it to Berk before Hiccup was an infant.

Johann only stayed for a short tine, again warning the riders of an approaching storm. So far the Edge was nice and warm, almost summer like. But even outside the Barbaric Archipelago the weather could change quickly and sure enough by early evening a storm hit as the riders were getting ready to take flight, hoping to beat the storm. They never got off the island.

In that time Hiccup had de-aged to that that of a ten year old. Nearly half his age in under twenty-four hours. He had gone from happy and bubbly to quiet and afraid. He sat in the corner of the stables, knees pulled to his chest and arms wrapped tightly around them as the storm raged outside.

"He's not going to make it," he muttered as Dagur slid down to sit next to him. Toothless cooed softly from the other side.

"Who?" Dagur asked between rumbles of rolling thunder.

Hiccup wiped at his tears. "My Dad. Astrid said he'd come once he knew I was in trouble but he's not here."

Dagur wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him against his side. "Stoick will be here. As soon as there's a break in the storm we'll head out and meet up with him. I promise." He pressed his lips to the top of Hiccup's head. "He'll come."

Hiccup sniffled but cuddled into Dagur's side. He was getting tired and kept dozing off while they waited. Dagur never left him. Astrid was constantly checking on them. She had taken charge of the riders and was keeping on eye on the storm. Heather ended up sitting on Hiccup's other side, squeezing between him and Toothless.

"Hey there, Hiccup," she said gently while petting the Nightfury. "How about you lay down with Toothless and get some rest. It may be a while before the storm breaks."

"I'm okay," he mumbled but as soon as Heather got up to help Astrid, he did exactly as she suggested and curled up next to his dragon.

Dagur wrapped him in a warm fur and left him in Toothless's care, trusting the dragon to keep Hiccup warm and protected. He strolled up to his sister. "How bad is it?" he asked, watching the angry clouds that darkened the sky.

"We should have left in the morning," Astrid admitted. She glanced toward Hiccup with a small frown. "He won't last much longer at this rate. He lost at least nine years in one day."

"You don't really think he'll revert to baby, do you?" Heather asked softly.

"I don't know," Astrid admitted, hugging herself. "I don't know what to do. I can't imagine a life without him."

"Yeah, I know," Dagur agreed.

They took turns checking on Hiccup, making sure he was warm and comfortable. The storm lasted a long time and for a while they feared they would be stuck on the Edge, but then the clouds broke and a sliver of sunlight shone throw.

"There!" Snotlout shouted, pointing toward it.

"It's not going to last long," Fishlegs warned, mounting Meatlug.

The others hurried to their dragons. They only had one shot and they had to make it quick if they hoped to break through the storm.

"I'll ride Toothless and take Hiccup," Dagur told Astrid as she moved toward the Nightfury. "Sleuther can keep up with him."

She opened her mouth to objected.

"Please, I can handle it," Dagur insisted. "I know you're his betrothed but…I have years to make up to him and now I may only have days if that."

"Alright," she conceded. "Just hold him tight. It's going to be bumpy until he get past the storm. Get to the light and gain altitude as quickly as you can. There can be another storm behind this one. With luck we'll meet up with Stoick behind it. Either way, keep going until you reach Berk. We may get separated but we'll meet up there."

Dagur nodded. "Alright."

Toothless's saddle was already on him so Dagur lifted Hiccup up and got him settled on the Nightfury's back as his own dragon joined them. "Alright, boys, let's go." He made sure Hiccup's furs were secure then reached past him to grasped the handles of Toothless's saddle. Both the Nightfury and the Triple Strike raced out of the stables and launched into the stormy sky. The rest of the riders followed suit, Snotlout being last in order to lock up the stable before he and Hookfang followed.

There was incredible turbulence the higher they got, the wings playing havoc with the dragons wings. But Toothless was determined to save Hiccup just as much as the riders and he aimed for the break in the storm without guidance, leading the charge. The rest of the dragons flew in a tight formation. They broke through the storm to where the sky was clear and the sun was growing low as day moved toward night. Dagur let out the breath he had been holding. Clears skies were what he was hoping for. Now they could reach Berk in no time. And the best part, he could make out a rider flying toward them.

Hiccup immediately perked up when he saw the approaching rider as well. "Dad!" he called in cheer.

Dagur squinted. Something was wrong. That wasn't Stoick riding a Rumblehorn…that was a Singetail and the rider was Krogan, and he wasn't alone. In moments the sky seemed to fill with fliers.

The Hunters had been waiting for them.


	4. Chapter 4

"Toothless, dive!" Hiccup cried out as a fire ball zipped toward them. His Nightfury dove toward the ocean as the others scrambled to avoid similar blasts from the Singetails.

Dagur held him tightly as he tried to keep up with all the necessary foot movements needed to control the artificial tailfin. They narrowly missed being hit and Toothless quickly banked to the right. "We need to get higher up before they force us to stay low," he warned, rotating his ankle in the stirrup while pulling on the saddle handles. "Up, bud, up," he encouraged Toothless. "Sleuther, clear us a path!"

"How did they know we were coming?" Hiccup asked, his voice that of grown up Hiccup. He kept trying to slip his little feet in the stirrup but it was no use. His legs were too small and Dagur was already there.

Dagur had a suspicion of how this happened but he kept it to himself. He had no proof but this sudden attack, hidden behind a storm, seemed all too convenient. "I don't know," he said darkly as they climbed higher into the sky. "But I'll be having words with a certain someone when this is over."

. . .

Kragon watched the Nightfury with delight. He knew it would seek refuge in the higher atmosphere where the Singetails did not like the thinner air. The battle was going exactly as he imagined it would. The riders were rushing about trying to protect the Nightfury and its riders which left them open for a secondary attack. Krogan waved a second battalion in, their focus solely on taking down the six defending dragons while a third cut off the Nightfury's escape.

"Bring me the boy," he ordered, joining the battle.

The aerial battle was intense. The riders aimed to get the fliers off the Singetails but the fliers had learned from their last battle and had tethered themselves to their saddles. The riders were forced to retreat back toward the storm and Dragons Edge. All but Toothless who kept being cut off no matter which way he went. He was forced away from the rest of the dragons and separated even from Sleuther. The fliers kept the riders at bay as they tried to return for their companions, and no amount of fire power seemed to be enough to break through the barricade the fliers formed, although not from lack of trying. Never before had the rider fought so many fliers all at once. It was the Hunters entire armada was now on dragon back.

Krogan circled Toothless, the dragon having expelled his six shot limit and glaring back at the leader of the fliers with hatred and death in his greengage eyes. The bounty hunter said nothing to either Dagur or Hiccup, simply studying them in silence. Then, quicker than anyone could react, he threw a knife through Toothless's artificial tailfin, slashing the heavy fabric to ribbons. Realizing what happened, the dragon tried to dodge and aim for the storm but a blast from Krogan's Singetail sent him tumbling out of control and knocked Dagur and Hiccup off the saddle.

"No!" Dagur cried, reaching out for Hiccup.

Hiccup reached for him as well, stretching his arm and fingers as far as they would go. "Dagur!" he yelled. But before their fingers could make contact, a chain wrapped around Hiccup's middle and yanked him backwards and toward Krogan. Fright filled the boy as the chain tightened around his narrow waist. "DAGUR!"

Dagur watched in horror, his hand still stretched out toward the child. "HICCUP!" he screamed a split second before hitting the turmoil sea water. Water filled his mouth before he had a chance to close it and his chest instantly burned from the lack of air. Nonetheless he tried kicking to the surface even as the waters went from blue to black as he was swept back into the storm.

Krogan hauled the struggling boy onto on his Singetail. "Stop," he ordered only to receive a small fist to the face, Hiccup having enough of his grown up self left to still put up a fight.

The boy twisted in the saddle, punching and kicking with everything he had until Krogan backhanded him hard enough to knock the wind out of him. His vision swam and before Hiccup could come to his senses he felt a prick in the side of his neck and the familiar sensation of his vision blackening along the edges and moving toward the middle filled him. "No again," he whined as the feeling of lightheadedness consumed him. A moment later he passed out, his small body going limp before Krogan.

"We have what we came for," Krogan announced, tucking Hiccup's unconscious form against his body. "Kill the rest." With that, he kicked the ribs of his Singetail and headed back to his base of operations. With the riders out of the way they could finally locate the King of Dragons. And Hiccup would serve as a hostage should the riders survive. They would no longer be in their way.

. . .

"No!" Astrid screamed in outrage as Krogan sped off with Hiccup. Stormfly launched herself toward a group of fliers but they immediately concentrated their fire power on her. There was no getting passed them.

"Astrid, we have to retreat," Heather said, an unconscious Dagur hanging from Windshears's talons. Toothless was being held by Sleuther, the Triplestrike clicking his tail in worry. "We can't get past them and we have injured. We need to regroup. We don't even know where Krogan is taking him."

It didn't matter where Krogan was taking Hiccup. What mattered was getting her betrothed back before he got much younger. They needed to get him to Gothi and get him back to normal. But there was no way around the fliers. Dagur was unconscious, Toothless was unable to fly. Ruffnut's arm had been burnt when a fireball got to close and needed tending. Snotlout had the same issue with his leg, which seemed odd since he flew a dragon that could literally set itself on fire. They needed to tend their wounded or they wouldn't be good to anyone.

With a low growl, Astrid sounded the retreat for a second time. She hoped Stoick had got her message and was on the way, but even so, she now had to add a call for the Auxiliary Riders to come to the Edge. It was going to take all of them to find the Hunters and get Hiccup back.

. . .

Viggo inspected the lenses he had acquired for the Dragon Eye. He had gone through each of them a dozen times, tried endless combinations and dragon fires, but he had yet to find what he had been looking for. The lens he required could not be among them otherwise he would have found it by now. Perhaps Hiccup still had some. Perhaps it was in his possession. But if it was then it could have been destroyed when the boy destroyed his hut months earlier when the Hunters had conquered the Edge. Viggo had not found it when he searched the wreckage personally. It could have been on Hiccup's person but Viggo highly doubted that. The boy wouldn't have been carrying such a thing around if he did not have the Eye. So where was it?

He checked his maps, marking all known locations where lenses were found. It was still out there, somewhere.

A frown tugged at his lips when he heard the flaps to his tent open. "I said I wasn't to be disturbed," he said in a low and dangerous voice.

"I have a present for you," came Krogan's smooth, rich voice.

Viggo's frown deepened in annoyance. "I have no time for whatever trinket you brought this time." He turned in his seat to glare at the bounty hunter. "You failed…"

"To captured your idol?" Krogan answer, his voice smooth as silk as he pulled back the heavy fur draped over one shoulder to show his catch.

Viggo's gaze moved from the bounty hunter to the child in his arms and back. "Who's child is that?" he asked, uncertain. Did Hiccup have a younger brother he was not told about? This boy was only nine of ten years old at best.

Krogan grinned wolfishly at the Hunter chieftain. "You wanted Hiccup to be harmless and no longer a threat, the völva gave us that. This, Viggo, is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

Viggo's brows furrowed. "That's not possible. This is a child. Hiccup may be young but his is no child."

Krogan shrugged. "A matter of perceptive, I suppose. He is my gift to you…or I can feed him to the Singetails. They are a mite peckish after a battle."

For a brief moment Viggo considered letting the boy be killed. Surely this was some joke. Hiccup was nearly a man, or a teenager at the very least. This boy was a small harmless child who did look remarkably like Hiccup but there was no way ge could be. He had to be a relative at the very least. Not only that, but this child had two legs where Hiccup only had one.

"You're telling me that potion did this?" he clarified, unable to believe his eyes.

Krogan nodded. "Excellenor is a very power völva. Her potions never fail. Drago has been going to her for decades." He deposited the unconscious child into Viggo's arms.

"What am I supposed to do with him?" Viggo demanded, trying to balance the boy in his arms. He had never had any children of his own and the few he had held had not been the most comfortable of situations. He made it a rule to avoid holding any child.

"Kill, keep him, I don't care, as long as he's out of my way," was all Krogan said before exiting the tent to attend his own duties.

Viggo was left stunned as he stared after the other man. What he would give to have Ryker back. If he had known he would be stuck working with Krogan he never would have…

He shook away that thought and tried to focus on the situation at hand. He stared down at the small boy in his arms. The slim build and freckles where features very similar to Hiccup but he could not believe this boy could possibly be the leaders of the dragon riders, his young and brilliant rival. There was no magic on Earth powerful enough to cause someone to grow young like this. Such thing were mere legion, made up stories like the fountain of youth. Unless they really were real and this völva…this witch had some of sort of access to it. But why revert Hiccup to such a young age? Why given him back his leg?

Unsure what to do with his new ward, Viggo laid the boy in his bed and was instantly relieved to no longer have him in his arms. What was Krogan thinking? He was no good with children. Why not leave the boy with his friends where he would be no trouble? The riders would have been too busy trying to find a way to restore their leader to his proper age. Now they would track him down and cause no end to their misery. Viggo would have to find someone else to care for the boy, a nursemaid or someone who knew how to deal with children. He had someone in mind but it would be unlikely they would want to help.

Still, this was an unusual development. He carded his fingers through the boy's hair, willing him to wake up and open his eyes. Once he saw them he would know for if this was indeed Hiccup. Those emerald orbs were unmistakeable, and then…then he could decide what to do. Until then he wrapped a length or rope around the boy's ankle and tied it to the end of the bedframe so the child couldn't run off and went back to work. It was a shame they had no prison cells but perhaps he'll have one of the men bring in a cage to keep the boy until he figured out what to do.


	5. Chapter 5

The boy didn't wake up for hours and when he did Viggo stared at him in horrified fascination. The boy had been about ten years of age when given to Viggo but he had grown younger right before the man's eyes. Not only that but the child now had a noticeable wheeze when he breathed that only seemed to go away when his head was risen to a certain angle by a pillow – he had begun to drive Viggo a little nuts as he tried to focus on the Dragon Eye – and kept shivering despite the heavy furs covering him. When he opened his eyes they were large and bright, the color of emeralds that reflexed the firelight from the central hearth. At first he didn't say anything, just looked around curiously before lying his little head back on the small mound of pillows, shivering even though it was warm in the tent.

Viggo watched him in silence. The child didn't go back to sleep. He stared back at Viggo, his eyes showing his intellect even in this much younger version of himself.

"Hiccup?" Viggo asked curiously. He didn't move from his chair, choosing to keep his distance for now. If this was Hiccup then it would do no good to spook him in such a condition. Besides, at such a tender age the young man – former young man – might be easier to control.

If the boy would even acknowledge him.

The child's lips tightened into a thin line and for a brief moment Viggo again questioned if this child was truly Hiccup Haddock. A shimmer of tears dotted the corner of his eyes. Then, without a word, the boy rolled and faced the wall, kicking at the rope around his ankle as if it was and annoyance.

That heightened Viggo's curiosity. "Hiccup Haddock," he said firmly, sounding more like a reprimand than a question.

The boy gave a grunt but not a real answer. Okay, kids were not Viggo's thing and he wasn't about to torture the boy for answers either. He just needed a way to figure out how to gain the child's interest long enough to figure out what was happening to him and how to use that to his advantage. If Hiccup were still a man he could torture him into submission but children needed to be handled differently.

"You appear to be aging in the wrong direction at a rapid pace, my boy," he began as he lifted the cover off a platter of food one if the servants had brought him not long ago. "When the völva created the potion I thought it may put you in a coma or some other nonthreatening position not turn you into a defenseless child."

The boy stiffened at his words. "I'm not defenseless," the boy responded, obviously trying to sound fierce but instead sounding high pitch and squeaky.

Viggo smiled as he cut into his dinner. There was a second platter of food but he'd wait until Hiccup stopped acting so tough and accepted the situation for what it was. "But you are, my dear Hiccup. "You're barely four feet tall, unlikely to be able to lift a weapon of any sort, and without your Nightfury. Not to mention you continue to get younger by the moment."

There was no answer from the former dragon rider.

Viggo chewed on a piece of stake and waited while Hiccup thought over what he said. "At this rate you'll be nothing but a memory by tomorrow evening." He continued eating but kept an eye on the boy. Hiccup made to move to object or escape. He was still shivering under the fur. "You must feel it, the magic consuming your body, making you smaller. It must be painful have your bone compress like that, skin pulling tighter. Must be like puberty in reverse…or was since you've already passed that part, but growing pains nonetheless." He paused for effect. "What if I can stop it as you are now, end your de-aging so that you can start aging properly again? It may not return you to your true age but it will keep you from vanishing altogether."

"And why would you do that for me?" Hiccup asked, finally rolling over to face Viggo.

The man smiled to himself as he focused on his food. "Because dead you are worth nothing to me. I have a use for you alive, even like this."

The boy gave another little grunt that sounded far too grown up. Then there was a strange whimper that made Viggo look over at the child in surprise. There were tears in the boy's eyes and rolling down his little cheeks.

"I want my Dad," Hiccup whimpered in a very small, very child like voice. And then, to Viggo's absolute horror, the boy began crying in earnest. He rolled onto his side, drew his knees to his chest and cried loud and hard under the heavy furs. "I want my Dad!"

Viggo didn't know what to do. He never dealt with anything like this before. It was completely out of his territory. All he could do was sit there and watch in shock as the boy took a fit. Alright, so talking to him as if he was still the grown up Hiccup may not have been the best way to go. He tried to think of a way to fix this but his mind came up blank. The cries only got louder and louder until Viggo had no choice but to act.

In four paces he crossed from the table to the bed, cut the rope securing the boy to the bed, then lifted him, furs and all, into his arms. Hiccup kicked and struggled for only a moment before breaking down in sobs once more. His wet little face pressed into the left side of Viggo's neck, nose against the old claw marks that scarred the side of his neck and just inches from where his face was burned from falling into the volcano and trying to retrieve the Dragon Eye. There were hiccupy sobs but after a few minutes the boy seemed to calm down if only a fraction. Viggo couldn't put him down without it all starting over again.

He was out of his depth, Viggo realized as he held the boy, unsure if he could sit down or if it would set the child off again. If this was how Hiccup reacted now how much worse would he get the smaller he got? Viggo had to put an end to the de-aging immediately.

He tried to remember what Ryker once said when Viggo had been forced hold a child once before, many years ago. It was so long ago now, maybe ten – twelve years, before he had become chief. Rock him and hum softly. Viggo didn't know any lullabies so the rocking and humming was the only thing he had that could possibly work. So he did that. Ever so gently as the child wrapped small twig like arms around his neck.

"Alright, alight…" Viggo said soothingly, rocking every so slowly as he moved toward the opening of his tent. A guard stood not far away, watching the skies for any possible dragon rider attack. "Find the völva and bring her to me immediately," he ordered.

The man stared at him wide eyed. "But Krogan said…"

"I don't care what Krogan said. Find her and bring her to me now." He ducked back inside the tent. Juggling Hiccup into one arm, he hastily scribbled a short letter and managed to attach it to a Terrible Terror. As much as he loathed to admit it, he needed help and there was only one person he trusted in such a situation. The cage was starting to look like a very good idea with every passing moment.

. . .

Dagur's chest hurt. It had since he woke up back on the Edge. He didn't remember being hit but Heather informed him he had swallowed a lot of water and had nearly drowned. A part of him wished he had when he realized Hiccup was taken. He had failed the one thing he swore to do; protect Hiccup. But this attack had been well planned and coordinated. The fliers had followed the storm knowing what had happened to Hiccup and that they would go to Berk for help. It had all been planned and now the riders, almost half of which were injured or their dragons were, were trapped on the Edge with dozens upon dozens of fliers flying around the fort and not allowing anyone to leave the clubhouse. Dagur couldn't leave if he tried. Every inch of him hurt. His lungs burned with every breath he took. The pain was welcomed as he berated himself for his failure.

"Hey, you okay?" Heather asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I will be, after I strangle Krogan," he answered, his voice still hoarse from the sea water. "Can we fix Toothless's tailfin?"

"If one of us can make it to Hiccup's hut we can grab one of the spares, maybe a few," said Astrid, pulling up a chair to sit across from him. "But the fliers aren't letting us even step outside. They'll blow one the bridge before we can cross it."

Fishlegs nodded from where he was caring for their injured dragons. "And even if someone did make it across there's no guarantee they'll make it back. Whatever Krogan has planned for Hiccup, he doesn't want us reaching him in time."

"Wait…you mean Krogan is just going to let Hiccup de-age until he no longer exists?" Tuffnut asked, changing the bandage on his sister's arm for a third time. Her burn was much worse than they first feared and without fresh water to keep it clean and to soothed the pain it would blister and could and most likely would get infected.

"Krogan doesn't care. With Hiccup out of the picture there's nothing to stop him," Heather said softly.

Snotlout gave a snort. "We're still here. We beat them before, we can do it again."

"And what do we tell Stoick?" Fishlegs retorted.

"Nothing," Ruffnut answered, pulling away and standing. "We tell him nothing until we get Hiccup back. And if we don't…we'll deal with that if it happens."

"Stoick's on. His way here."

"Then where is he?"

The riders began arguing over what to do, their voices rising all around Dagur, no one agreeing on what should be done. Dagur stayed silent, his thoughts in turmoil. He should be mediating and trying to find his inner peace to help think things out thoroughly but the temper he had fought so hard to tame was bubbling at the surface and refused to be tamed. "I'll do it," he announced, although his voice was soft and barely heard over the chaos of the riders. He wasn't used to people ignoring him which was exactly what the Hooligans were doing. It made something in him that he had managed to hold in check for months finally snap. "I'LL DO IT!" he bellowed, silencing everyone. "I'll get Toothless's spare tailfin. I just need a distraction."

Everyone stared at him.

"I've got your distraction," Heather offered.

"We've got your distraction," Astrid corrected.

A soft smile lit Dagur's face at Astrid's offer to help him. Yes, it was to save her betrothed but it was rare for them to work together.

"Alright," Dagur said, looking about the riders in the room. It still felt weird being one of them after years of being their enemy. He drew in a deep breath then nodded. "Lets do this."

There was a hatch in the floor of a small back room that was used as a panty. It led to a cool room that was mean to store salted meats and produce that had to be kept at a much colder temperature than what was used on a daily basis. Blocks of ice were also stored there. It was hidden in the shadows of the cliff behind the fort and beneath every other structure in the fort. Another smaller hatch was built into that floor, this one used to drain excess water when ice melted. Another one of Hiccup's inventions to preserve food longer. It was just large enough for Dagur to shimmy through and stand on the beams directly below.

"Okay, wait until we have the fliers chasing after us and then get to Hiccup's hut as fast as you can. Use the ropes under the bridge for cover and stay out of sight. We'll give you as much time as possible," Astrid instructed as she handed him an axe.

Dagur frowned at it and handed it off to Heather who smartly held out a set of throwing knives. He gave her a grin. In one year Heather had come to know him well enough to know his preferred weapon. He stashed them on his person. "I'm going to try coming back this way but worse case scenario…be ready to give me lift."

His sister nodded. "Got it. Be careful."

"You, too. Both of you. Thor knows I'll never hear the end of it from Hiccup if I got his betrothed killed," he teased Astrid.

The girl in questioned shoved his head down the hatch. "Just get going. Thor knows I'd never hear the end of it from Hiccup if I got his big brother killed."

The Berserker laughed. "I'm going live having a sister-in-law."

She rolled her eyes. "My gamily is starting to look sane compared to Hiccup's," she joked as she and Heather made their way back to the other hatched.

Heather chuckled. "Imagine if we were blood, then you'd be marrying a Berserker."

"Some days I think I am," Astrid admitted. "Come on, lets see how much chaos we can cause."

. . .

He was never having children, Viggo decided, thumping his head against the back of his chair. He never felt so exhausted. Only a few hours with the child and he was already on the verge of losing his mind. Once he had managed to calm the boy down he had tried talking to him as he normally would Hiccup. He even tried to engage him in a game of Maces and Talons, but the game pieces kept ending up in the child's mouth while he considered his next move and then became toys that were bashed around in "combat" and then were thrown about when Viggo tried to take the pieces away which also led to a screaming match that Viggo had no hope of talking the boy down from let alone winning. Now the boy was sitting at HIS desk with HIS ink drawing on HIS good parchment. It was better than listening to the screaming. Hiccup happily kicked his little feet while he drew images of dragons, half the ink on the parchment, the rest staining the mahogany desk. It would have to be sanded and stained once more once this nightmare was over.

The völva had gone missing. No one seemed able to find her and Krogan was being less than helpful, no doubt getting a big laugh out of Viggo's plight. He was never so happy to have hidden the Dragon Eye before the boy started asking for it. He could only imagine the damage little grimy, ink covered fingers could do to it and the lenses.

He barely glanced up when the flaps of the tent opened and the thump of heavy feet stepped inside.

"You best have the völva or get out," Viggo growled, too tired to deal with much more.

There was a familiar snort of bemusement. "What happened here? One of your conquests finally catch up to you and dump their spawn in your lap?"

Viggo's chest tightened in a mix of anguish and relief. He sat up a little straighter and turned in his seat, ignoring Hiccup's surprised gasp at their guest. His gaze met familiar deep brown eyes that held a mix of amusement and satisfaction. "If you must know, this child is not mine," he said smoothly as he stood. "My dear brother."


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry, uploaded the wrong chapter last night without noticing. Thanks to everyone pointing it out. Sorry I didn't catch it sooner.

Ryker was stiff when Viggo offered him an embrace in greeting. It had been months since the whole Operation Shellfire incident where both brothers had nearly been killed trying to take out the dragon fires. Ryker had nearly drown and there were moments when he awoke in the dead of night feeling as if he was still choking on sea water. It was by sheer will power that he had survived, lucky enough to have floated to the surface when he snagged a piece of debris from the primarily metal ship. Where the wood came from, how he managed to grab it he would never know. He was one of the very few Hunters, all of which he could count on one hand and still have fingers left, that had managed to wash up to shore alive. All because Viggo had decided his men was worth sacrificing in order to destroy the dragon riders. But karma was a funny thing and Viggo had gotten his just desert when he quite literally fell into a volcano while trying to save the Dragon Eye. And while Ryker was happy his little brother was alive, he couldn't move past the betrayal. He had left active duty with the few survivors of his ship and returned home to his family, the wife and children he had left behind to capture dragons for Viggo. Now Viggo stood before him asking for his help again, this time with a small child no more than six or seven years old.

"No," he said firmly, stepping back. Once upon a time, not so long ago, he would have done anything for Viggo. Not any more.

Viggo looked shocked by the refusal. His usual calm demeanor was not more and he looked desperate to get away, if only for a few hours. "Ryker, you don't understand. This child…he's Hiccup…"

The elder Grimborn gave a hollow laugh. "And magic turned him into a child?"

"Yes."

Ryker turned to leave. "I have my own children to care for, Viggo. I will not raise yours. Take respons-"

"He's not my child!" Viggo all but screeched before realizing how undignified he sounded and trying to calm down. He took a deep breath. "Krogan found a völva and she cast some sort of aging spell and this is what became of Hiccup." He gestured wildly at the boy sitting at his desk. All I need is for you to watch him long enough for me to find this Excellenor and get something to stop him from getting much younger."

"Sounds like all your troubles will go away if you leave it alone," Ryker mused, eying the child who was watching them intently.

"Hiccup is no good to me dead, and certainly of no use as an infant," Viggo reasoned, or at least tried to. "I don't have the patience needed to raise a child. Can you please watch him for a few hours?"

"And why not have one of the men watch him?"

Viggo gave a pained expression, as if what he was about to say truly hurt him. "Because you're the only one I trust."

Ryker frowned at him. "Funny that, considering…" He let that hang in the air between as he folded his large arms across his chest. "You have an hour. Not a minute more. If you're not back I'll feed him to the Speedstingers and then you won't have a problem anymore."

Viggo opened his mouth to remind his brother just who was chief of their tribe, but after the way they lasted parted he knew Ryker no longer cared. He didn't even classify himself as a Hunter anymore. He could walk out right now and short of killing him there was nothing Viggo could do. An hour was all he had. It would have to do.

"Thank you," he said with a small nod. He glanced toward Hiccup, biting back a curse at the mess of his desk. "Hiccup, be good for…ah…Uncle Ryker?"

Ryker rolled his eyes in exasperation. The child merely waved an ink stained hand to wave goodbye, his focus back on his art work. Viggo didn't wait a moment longer. He was out of the tent in a split second.

Ryker watched the boy for several minutes, trying to see what made Viggo claim this child was Hiccup Haddock. The hair was similar, as well the freckles and basic bone structure of the cheeks. He was d rather small for his age but was clearly not a toddler. Rounding the desk he studied the child's slim build and the fact he had two legs instead of one. Obviously this boy could not be who Viggo claimed. Viggo could be eccentric but he was also a very practical man. But this lacked logic. Perhaps falling into that volcano had done more damage than the burns to his face.

"Alright, little one, how about you tell me who you really are?" he asked, wondering just how bad his brother's delusions had become.

The boy glanced up from his drawing and Ryker couldn't help but be taken back by the starting green eyes, ones he knew for a fact he had looked into before. "Hiccup," the child chirped with a small smile. He looked back at the ink splattered parchment and in a sing-song voice stated his full name. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

Ryker hummed softly to himself. "Did he call you that?"

"Nope, my Daddy did. Viggo says he'll be coming to get me once he finds the völva and stops my de…de-aging?" He gave Ryker a curious look, unsure if he said the right word. "Says he'll ransom me for stolen gold? My Daddy didn't steal it."

Ah yes, the gold they had lost when the dragon riders discovered their secret stash. "Oh? Then who did?" Ryker asked, already knowing the answer.

"I did," Hiccup said happily.

Which was true. Hiccup had led his riders after the gold, along side Dagur. It was revenge for the small treasure Viggo had kept from the rider botched dragon auction bust. But for Hiccup to remember that and be a child seemed unlikely. He squatted down until he was at eye level with the boy, much as he did with his own children where talking with them, especially when they had done something wrong. "I don't know what you're playing at, boy, but I know your not what you seem."

Hiccup met his gaze. "And what do I seem?" he asked innocently enough.

Ryker studied his eyes, trying to find the proof that this was not truly a child but some trick meant to harm the Hunters. There was a wisdom in those bright green orbs but no malice, no angry or treachery. By all looks this child was simply that, a child. "Who's your father?" he asked instead.

"Stoick the Vast. He's bigger than you. Stronger, too. He took you out in one punch." He began doodling an image of a large man with a bushy beard on a blank corner of the parchment.

Ryker wasn't quite happy with that reminder. "And what is my name?"

Hiccup paused, suddenly confused then gazed back at the man. "He called you Ryker, but you're not my uncle. I only have one. Spitelout…he's weird. Always grumpy. Him and my Dad argue all the time about EVERYTHING."

"Do you have a brother?" Ryker decided to ask as he picked up a piece of charcoal and decided to draw on what was left of the right hand side of the parchment.

The boy gave a little snort. "I have a Dagur. He says we're brother but not by blood or marriage. But he still looks out for me when not mad at me. Then I have a Fishlegs and Tuffnut who are like brothers although can be very annoying in their own ways. Not as bad as my cousin Snotlout. I sort of have two sisters, too. Heather is Dagur's little sister and Ruffnut is Tuffnut's twin. Then there's Astrid…she my girlfriend, soon to wife. Am I still old enough to marry her?"

Ryker was used to his kids telling him stories but in under five minutes Hiccup had pretty much spoken to him more than all the previous times they encountered each other and told him all about himself and his friends. Now he looked at Ryker expectantly, as if the Hunter held the answer to his questions. "No, you're far too young for such a thing."

"That sucks," the boy said, not sounding overly upset.

Ryker had to admit it this fell under one of the most unusual days of his life. The kid really wasn't much trouble and he wondered why Viggo had been panicking the way he had. As ling as the boy was drawing he seemed happy. He was even happier when Ryker drew with him. He was perhaps easier to care for than Ryker's own children. As long as the boy didn't cause any trouble, Ryker was content to watch over him…and give him as much parchment as his little heart wanted.

. . .

Why everyone had so much trouble finding Excellenor was beyond Viggo. The völva's hut was moved to the highest point of the camp, exactly where Krogan said it would be and she was sitting right at table with a chest board as if waiting for him. There were even two cups of tea. He quickly declined when she offered one.

"I want to reverse the spell," he demanded, getting straight to the point in hopes of not showing how haggard he was.

She gazed up at him with milky white eyes and had the gall to ask what spell he spoke of.

"The one to revert Hiccup Haddock's aging," he snapped, pounding his fist on the table as if to frighten her.

She was unmoved. "I was asked to create a potion to make the boy harmless and defenseless. If you truly knew this boy you would know that the only he was ever harmless was when he was in his mother's womb. Since she is dead he will continue to grow younger until he can no longer draw breath without her."

"I refuse to accept that," he sneered, unable to believe someone would cast such a spell.

"You do not need to. It is what I was paid to do," she countered sweetly. "The boy will have less than a day before he dies."

Viggo's eyes widened in shock. As much as Hiccup annoyed him and ruined a good number of his best laid plans, he wasn't on the boy dying in such a manner. On the battle field where they could compare wits was honorable but this was not acceptable. "I will pay you to end this spell. Leave him at the age he is now, allow me to raise him as my own and he will no longer be a threat."

She rolled a small set of stone runes in her bony hands. "Many have tried to tame this boy, my son included. He is like a wild dragon, a king who refuses to be tamed. To do what you ask will mean you would have to start at the beginning, when he is young and fresh without a memory of his father or mother or those he holds dear."

"Yes, yes, I understand that. Will you do it?"

She pondered the question for a moment. "It will cost you double what Krogan paid. Reversing one's age is easy, countering such a spell is not. It will take a few hours to brew. Come back when the sun sets. Leave the boy behind."

Viggo nodded, hope renewed. "Of course," he said, depositing a few gold coins on the table. He would bring the rest when he returned. While this Little Hiccup unnerved him it was better than having to raise him from an infant. If that were the case he would pay Ryker and his wife to do the job for him until the boy reached an age where he could teach him properly. He was not cut out to be a father nor did he want to be one. Nonetheless he felt an urgency to return to the small boy, unusually fearful for his safety. It wasn't Ryker he worried about but Krogan. Krogan had no qualms about killing entire villages to accomplish his goals. He worked alongside a warlord that was truly frightful. For him to have such a spell cast on Hiccup meant he saw the boy as much more than a threat to their present operations but also to his leader. The last thing Viggo wanted was Drago to be alerted to Hiccup's presence. He would get rid of the boy without a second thought, not seeing how truly gifted the boy was or the value he may have IF his skills were tapped into properly. Viggo saw them, he wanted them. He wanted the brilliant young man working for them but the only way to succeed in that was to stop him from de-aging any further.

Relief flooded him when he entered his tent and saw Hiccup contently sitting on Ryker's lap and pointing out the images he had drawn while babbling on about some made up story. Ryker simply nodded and listened, seemingly content with the child on his lap. It seemed odd given who the child was, but Ryker was a natural father, even if he was short patient when it came to their Hunters. He seemed perfectly at peace with a child on his lap and listening to wild made up stories. For a moment Viggo was tempted to slip back out and let his brother do what he did best.

But lately fate seemed to be cruel towards him. Hiccup's little head lifted at the sound of the fabric sliding close and he gave a little frown. "Grumpy's back," he told Ryker, who looked up in amusement.

"His name's Viggo," he corrected.

"That's what I said, Grumpy. My Viggo, Outcast Viggo, is never grumpy," the boy explained.

Ryker's grin only widened. "There's an Outcast named Viggo?"

"Uh huh, much cooler than this one." And then Hiccup pointedly ignored Viggo in favor of drawing on a fresh sheet of parchment after Ryker placed him back on the chair by himself.

Viggo's face turned an interesting shade of red as he glared at the boy. The urge to throw the child in a cage momentarily filled him again.

"Forget what I said, I love this kid," Ryker chuckled as he cleaned ink off his hands. "He gets under your skin ten times faster than he did as an adult."

"Then you wouldn't staying to help me. He seems at ease with you," Viggo said, just managing to keep a low growl out of his voice.

But Ryker laughed at him. "Nope, did my time already and have my own to worry about." He slapped Viggo on the back in passing. "This is what my wife would call karma. Enjoy." He glanced back toward the boy. "Hiccup?"

"Yeah?" the child called back.

"It was good seeing you again." And it was true. This little Hiccup didn't bother him at all.

"You too, bye."

Ryker shook his head in bemusement. "Bye." He pushed back the flaps to leave.

"Wait," Viggo said, nearly panicking at the idea of being alone with the child again. "Stay. I'll pay you to stay. The völva is working on a potion to stop him from growing any younger ."

His brother's jaw tightened. "And for how long? Until he's a man again? It's time to take responsibility, brother." With that he pulled away and left the camp.

Viggo stared after him in horror. How could Ryker leave him like this? They were brothers. They were supposed to stand side by side.

His thoughts came to a screeching halt when a small hand slipped into his.

"I need to go pee," the little boy announced, tugging on his hand. "And poo."

And his personal Hel jus kept getting worse.

. . .

Getting to Hiccup hut wasn't half as hard as Dagur feared. Once the riders started causing havoc the fliers swarmed toward the front of the clubhouse, intent on keeping everyone inside. Dagur was able to slip underneath the bridge leading to the closest hut, and with a fair amount of upper body strength, managed to keep most of his body pressed against the underside of the boards, a make shift line tied around his waist and tied to a beam under the clubhouse. He used hooks to latch himself to the bridge every ten paces so that if he fell he wouldn't go crashing to the ground or swing back to the clubhouse but the rope only lasted until the second bridge where he had to raid Astrid's hut in hopes of finding more. What he found instead as a side door that led to a private bridge tucked deep in the shadows and went directly to a small side door in Hiccup's hut.

"Tricky, tricky, tricky," he mused, deciding this was a safer way to his brother's hut. Even more surprising, this door was unlocked. Dagur didn't take time to admire Hiccup's cleverness as he normally would. He began grabbing prototype tailfins off the wall and tying them into a bundle before slinging them across his back.

The trek back was okay until he passed Astrid's hut. The fliers must have figured out something was up. The moment he went to tether himself to the bridge it was blasted before his very eyes, trapping him on the wrong side. He couldn't get back to the clubhouse without going all the way to ground floor then racing across to the long winding step back up to the clubhouse, leaving him a sitting duck for at least fifteen minutes.

There had to be another, faster way. He ducked back into Astrid's hut when the flier went to make a second pass. At least he was in Astrid's heavily armed hut. This was a girl after his own heart and he was happy that she was the one engaged to Hiccup. She'd take good care of him and any children they had. Heck, she had enough weapons to arm most of Berk. Now of he was on Sleuther or Toothless than he would have a better chance, not much but he honestly should have rode his dragon across but that had not been an option. He would have been spotted immediately. Thankfully, due to Astrid's obsessiveness for quality weapons, he found a bow and a length the elusive rope he had searched for earlier. There was pounding at the front door. Lovely, the fliers decided to come and get him. He would have felt honored if he wasn't in a rush. If they got to him they would destroy the tailfins and have the riders completely trapped. If they could get the three uninjured dragons in the air they could lead the riders on a marry chase toward Berk while the rest of the riders found a safe place to hide. With luck they could catch at least one rider and learn where Hiccup was being kept. They didn't much time left and he highly doubted Stoick was coming. The fliers most likely intercepted the Terror mail. They were on their own.

There was a watchtower at the top of Astrid's hut where he could see the entire fort and had an unobstructed view of the clubhouse. Tying one end of the rope to an arrow and then the other end to a beam, he strung it to the bow. He took a deep breath to steady his racing heart. He needed to keep calm and keep his mind clear. He couldn't afford to freak out right now.

He aimed for the northern gable of the clubhouse, directly above an open window that the riders were watching his progress. Thor must have been with him. There was plenty of rope. The arrow went deep into the wood. Dagur pulled the rope tight, testing its strength then tying the leftover rope to the beam. It wasn't the perfect zip line but as long as it held his weight it would have to do…provided he didn't shot of the air.

Wrapping cloth around his hands, he climbed up on the window ledge, grasped the line, and jumped. Vertigo hit him for a moment, the angle between the tower and the clubhouse a little steeper than he first thought. The riders were waiting for him. Snotlout and Tuffnut stood at the window, arms out stretched and ready to catch him.

Dagur never made it.

A fireball cut through the rope when Dagur was barely fifteen feet from the clubhouse. His eyes widened as gravity took hold of him.

"Dagur!" Snotlout yelled, trying to drive through to window to grab him but there was no way to catch the Berserker, Dagur was too far away. He plummeted toward the rocky ground below.

There was the roar of dragons and a flash or green and red swooping after Dagur as he fell out of sight. Everyone watched with bated breath, crowding around the window to see what was going on. Then, to everyone's great relief, a Rumblehorn flew into view. And on its back sat Stoick the Vast and a cleared winded, and very much alive, Dagur.


	7. Chapter 7

"Explain it again, slowly," Stoick said as he tried to make sense of what the riders were telling him. So far what they had told him made no sense. Hiccup was going younger and Krogan had stolen him? That made no sense. To make someone age backwards was impossible for one and Hiccup being kidnapped…well that he could see. Hiccup would be a powerful bargaining chip if Krogan was after something from Berk but that didn't seem Krogan's style. He was a bounty hunter. He would only capture Hiccup if someone wanted him captured. Which meant Viggo's return from the pit of the volcano may have stirred a yet more hostilities between the Hunters and Riders. More specifically the personal war between Viggo and Hiccup. It was days like this Stoick wondered if he did the right thing by letting his sin and his friends leave Berk to explore.

"We don't know how it happened or how to reverse it," Astrid confessed, her voice wavering in sorrow and anger. "All we know for certain is he went from nineteen to eleven or twelve in less than a day and Odin only knows how much younger he is now. But Krogan took him. Whatever he shot Hiccup with earlier…he knew this was going to happen and he knew we would try to take Hiccup to Berk. It was a coordinated attack. The fliers have locked us down here to keep us from interfering."

"Well you're not locked down anymore," Stoick said firmly. "Everyone who can fly, saddle up. The rest of you stay here and prepare for incoming. I'm not letting that man keep my son."

He turned toward Gothi. The tiny woman looked ready for battle and held her staff in both hands.

"You're staying, old woman. I need you to find a cure for my son," he explained calmly. "Have the remaining riders gather you whatever you need."

"I'll stay behind to help," Fishlegs offered. "I know all the herbs on the island."

"I'll stay, too," Heather said, placing a hand on Fishlegs's shoulder. "Between the two of us we can get everything Gothi needs."

Snotlout sauntered over to his chief. "Great, you two do that while I go out and kick whoever's ass it was that shot me down."

"Yeah, us, too," Ruffnut shouted, volunteering herself and her brother.

Astrid shook her head. "Your dragons are in no shape to fly for a ling distance," she tried to reason but there was a reason Snotlout and the Twins were labeled Snotnuts; when they got something foolish in their heads they didn't back down.

There wasn't as many fliers now. Stoick had quite literally plowed his way through them to get to the small outpost. Nevertheless, those that could regrouped, ready to stop the riders, fully expecting another chaotic distraction. This time they didn't fall for it, but that in itself was another distraction. They weren't prepared for Stoick charging into them with Skullcrusher, or Snotlout and the twins swooping up to startle them and engage them in and aerial game of cat and mouse. The few that stayed behind were quickly handed by Toothless, Sleuther and Stormfly as they took off in the direction Krogan was last seen with Hiccup. Astrid flew Toothless while Stormfly stayed close to the Nightfury's right flank, Sleuther and Dagur on the left. Stoick and Skullcrusher joined a moment later, watching the rear encase of surprise attack, an unconscious flier draped over his saddle. Nothing short of Loki himself was going to stop them from finding Hiccup.

. . .

Viggo stared at the small vial of liquid in his hand. It didn't seem like much more than colored water yet Excellenor ensured him it would stop Hiccup from de-aging any further. A part of him highly doubted it. He didn't trust the witch and his mind still refused to accept magic even though he had proof of it sitting right before him. Hiccup had grown even younger over the evening. Now it was past night fall and he stood no more than three feet tall and either four or five years of age.

"What is that?" the boy asked, eying the vial suspiciously.

Viggo considered it for a moment more. "This will help stop you from getting any younger," he explained, although he wasn't sure why he bothered. The child wasn't the quick witted young man he had faced off with anymore. He was just a little boy now.

"Why don't you want me to get younger?"

And sometimes he asked big boy questions.

"Because you're not use to me as an infant or…" He let his voice trail off, not wanting to think of what was to come if not stopped now. He popped off the stopper and rank smell filled the tent.

"EWE! That's worse than Snotlout's socks!" the child cried, covering his nose. His eyes watered. "No…it's worse than Tuff dirty underwear!"

It was hard not to laugh, but the boy had a point. Whatever was in the potion was utterly disgusting. It made Viggo's eyes burn as he fought not to gage from the smell. As quickly as possible, he dabbed several long needles into the mixture then corked it. The smell didn't going away. Viggo was forced to open the tent to let it air out.

"That was gross," Hiccup whined. "Worse than yaknog gross. I'd rather drink yaknog than that," he informed Viggo, his face a little green.

Viggo felt for him. Whatever yaknog was it sounded better than this. He set the needles aside. One should do the trick. After all Krogan had shot Hiccup twice from a distance whereas Viggo had the boy right in front of him and could place the in a nice thick vein.

"Come here," he commanded, holding a hand out to the boy.

Hiccup immediately stepped back, his gaze on the table and the pointy needles. "No."

"Hiccup. Come. Here."

"Nuh uh," the boy insisted. "Krogan already made me a pin cushion, I'm not letting you do it, too."

Inhaling through his nose, Viggo counted slowly to ten. This boy was going to be the death of him, and he wasn't even dangerous. Tired of the kid games, he snatched the boy up and sat him on the table. He held one arm tightly as the child struggled, grabbed one of the potion tipped needles and quickly jabbed it into the big vein on the inside of the boy's elbow. He waited only a moment before yanking it out and repeated the procedure with a free needle. The boy stared at his arm in horror before big fat tears rolled down his cheeks and he wailed in anguish. Once again Viggo was taken back by the sheer volume one small child could reach. He pulled the boy on his lap, hoping to sooth him but Hiccup would have none of it. He clambered off the man's lap and ran toward the opening as if trying to make a break for it. He didn't get far. Krogan scooped him up before he made it past the threshold.

"And where do you think you're going, little one," the bounty hunter purred, holding Hiccup's bottom as he cradled the boy on one hip. "You should be careful with this one. He is slippery regardless of age."

"I've noticed," Viggo grumbled as two men carried in a child size cot into the tent.

Krogan eyed the small be with a frown. "Are you certain would rather put the boy in a cage so he can't run?"

Voggo gestured to where he wanted the cot placed. "If things continue to progress as they have, he won't be able to run much longer."

"And your brother refused to take him?" Krogan pressed, unsure why the boy was even alive still.

"He has his own family to care for." He strolled to Krogan and took Hiccup from his arms. "Besides, there are some things I'd rather care for myself."

"And what of our guest tonight. We need privacy, not a screaming toddler."

"Hiccup will be fine," Viggo assured, lying the child on the cot and covering with a thick warm fur.

"I'm not tired!" Hiccup objected, only to yawn widely at the end.

A smile finally lifted Viggo's lips. "Liar. Go to sleep. You've had a long day and the medicine needs time to work."

"I hate medicine," the boy grumbled, laying his head on a soft pillow.

"We all do."

It wasn't long before Hiccup was snoring softly. The rattling in his chest when he breathed was less noticeable with the large fluffy pillow. There was still a small wheezing but nothing too concerning. Asleep the child was adorable, especially with how small he now was. The tension that had fill Viggo all day finally slipped away as he adjusted the fur. Sleeping kids he could handle. Awake ones should be handed off to a nursemaid. He made a mental note to hire one as soon as possible.

Krogan has one raised at he watched Viggo. "What medicine?" he asked, his gaze shifting to the table and the small vial sitting upon it.

Viggo stood and snatched the vial off the table before Krogan could grabbed it. "Something to stop Hiccup from getting any younger. I want him alive not dying…not like this."

"You care for the boy."

"Nonsense, he happens to be very valuable. We could bring Berk to its knees or raise an army of dragons as your master wants. Hiccup Haddock hides many talents that we are still only beginning to understand. To kill him now is to willfully watch them waste away. I have many uses for him. And like this I can raise him as my own and into a power Hunter, perhaps even the most powerful of us all."

Krogan's found deepened. "You're playing a dangerous, Viggo. I'm assuming you no longer plan to ransom him off?"

"Hardly," Viggo acknowledged. "He may be a handful but he is only a child now. With the right upbringing he'll be everything I ever wanted in an heir, without the messy relationship nonsense."

There was a deep chuckle from the entrance. "If only that were possible," Johann said by way of greeting.

Viggo glanced quickly at Hiccup to make sure he was still sound asleep. Thankfully the boy had yet to move and was breathing deeply. "And what does that mean?" he demanded, gesturing for the men to speak on the other side of the tent and away from Hiccup. "Are you insane?" he sneered at Johann. "If he sees you it'll blow your cover." He glanced once more at Hiccup's sleeping form before grabbing Johann's arm and pulling him outside. He may plan to raise Hiccup as his own but he was not taking any chances just yet.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the delay.

"Dispose of him," Johann had said.

The words still rung in Viggo's head as he stepped back into his tent. He understood Johann's reasoning, had considered it many times himself throughout the day. Even now as he looked upon the chaos that had befallen his personal sanctuary he thought of it. It wouldn't take much. He could easily snap the boy's neck with his bare hands and have the men dump the body in the ocean for the sharks to finish. The boy was sound asleep, he would feel a thing, struggle or make a sound. It would be easy and he could get back to his work.

Except he didn't want Hiccup dead. Maybe a few months ago, before his near death experience, he would have done so happily. Had almost stabbed the older Hiccup in the back, but things had changed while in exile. He had watched and learned. He had listened to Johann's tales of Hiccup's escapades and inventions, some of which he had witnessed himself but not appreciated as he should have. He had mistaken Johann's exuberance for affection toward Hiccup not jealousy or loathing. He knew his friend didn't like posing as a sniveling merchant bowing before the likes of Stoick the Vast but something must have happened between Johann and Hiccup that had made the spy come to hate him so. The threat of trade sanctions had apparently been the straw the broke the camel's back. Any affection Johann may once have felt was gone. He wanted Hiccup out of the picture and unable to interfere with the search for the King of Dragons. The boy was the only true threat to their search, the only one with the possibility of reaching it first. To assure that didn't happen the boy had to die.

Kneeling next to the little cot, Viggo very gently lowered the fur blanket to gaze upon the child. Hiccup was sound asleep, the little wheeze barely audible with the small mound of pillows keeping his head up. Like this he was peaceful and quiet and nothing like the little hellion that had taken over the tent. Viggo moved one hand toward his little throat. One quick move and it would be over.

He stopped, his hand resting on one little shoulder. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill Hiccup. Unlike everyone else around him, Hiccup wasn't a pawn, he wasn't disposable. He was his rival, the opposing king in their Maces and Talons. Regardless of his size and sudden youth, Hiccup could not be killed. It would be a waste of talent. The boy was still useful in too many ways to be disposed off so callously. It didn't what Johann wanted, Hiccup belonged to Viggo.

Covering the child back up, Viggo pulled over his chair and sat back. He would watch over Hiccup and protect him until he figured out what to do next. With luck he might even be able to get some work done with the Dragon Eye.

. . .

Stoick had interrogated many men over the years. He knew how to break, usually with very little effort, but this flier was unlike any man he had dealt with before. The man refused to speak. It didn't matter what Stoick did. No dragon scared him, the threat of death was useless, and he laughed when Skullcrusher scented him, speaking words that made fear a cold lump in Stoick's heart.

"Your beast can sniff me all he wants. My scent won't lead you to Kragon's camp. The fliers are station too far from it to do you any good," he sneered with sick sort of pleasure. "He's not fool enough to keep all his men in one place. You'll never find the boy in time."

Stoick's blood ran cold. "Astrid, scout the nearby islands," he ordered, his voice leaving no room for questions. "Dagur, you go with her. I'll join you both shortly. Take Toothless with you. Go!" he snapped when the two hesitated.

Dagur glanced at Astrid questioningly before mounting Toothless, the two taking turns riding the Nightfury and their own dragons. They took of toward the north where a known Hunter camp was. "You don't think…" he began, glancing toward the small island they just left. He remembered the stories of his youth, before Berk began working alongside dragons, when Stoick the Vast was known for much more than his large build, when he was vengeful and cruel after losing his wife to dragons.

Astrid glanced back as well. "I don't know," she said honestly. When the dealt with the bounty hunters and Savage, Stoick had been able to keep his temper…almost, but only because Toothless had managed to stop him before he killed Savage. Dread filled her as she glanced toward Toothless who was with them instead of Stoick. "Oh no," she breathed.

"What is it?" Dagur asked, concerned when he saw the sudden fear in her blue eyes.

She shook it off. "Keep going. He'll catch up," she said, her voice now void of fear and leaving no room for discussion.

Dagur would have asked more but understanding came in a strangled scream that was clearly not Stoick's. It lasted a few minutes, the pitch rising and falling until it suddenly stopped or they two had flown far enough away to no longer hear it. The two stared at each other for one long silent moment before the Berserker turned away. "Remind me never to get on his bad side again."

. . .

Tiny fingers traced lines down his cheek. At first Viggo didn't pay it much mind. It was soft, feather light and he probably wouldn't have noticed it if the burns on this left cheek weren't still so sensitive. He felt a small weight on his lap and knew who was touching him so he stayed still and let the boy explore the scared side of his face for a few minutes longer before opening his eyes.

A sleepy looking four year old studied his face with a strange sense of awe and sorrow. "Does it hurt?" the child asked, pulling his hand back suddenly, as if he had hurt Viggo.

Viggo stared at him for a moment before a soft smile tugged at his lips at Hiccup's child like concern. "No, not anymore," he assured, rubbing the boy's arm reassuringly. "It was a foolish mistake. Mine, not yours. Don't worry about it."

The child worried his lower lip. Then he did something that truly surprised Viggo. He got up on his knees and pressed his lips to Viggo's scarred cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered, sitting back. "All better?"

Viggo held his cheek in shock. "Wh…I…thank you, Hiccup," he finally managed, taken back by the small token of affection. "It feels much better. But I think you should be sleeping little one."

"It's noisy," Hiccup complained. "And I'm cold." He snuggled against Viggo and gave a little yawn. "You're warm."

The boy did feel a little cold to the touch. He studied the child for a long time as Hiccup snuggled into his chest, still shivering from the bite of cold that came over the evening. He would have slept in the chair with the boy in his arms but a knot had formed in his lower back and while Hiccup weighed next to nothing, it wasn't the most comfortable position. He held the child to his chest and went to bit him back in the small cot, but that didn't work when small hands suddenly latched on to his tunic.

"I want my Dad," Hiccup said in a small voice.

Viggo sighed and held the boy a little closer. "I'm sure he'll be here soon enough," he answered. He had yet to send a Terror mail demanding ransom. He time he began writing he had hesitated, wondering if he should keep the boy and raise him as his own. Not that he wanted children but Hiccup was not like other children. But for that he needed to keep Hiccup happy, warm, and most of all safe from Krogan and Johann. "How about we sleep on my bed," he offered, knowing it was the one place he could keep a better eye on the boy and defend him.

The child was hesitant for a moment before a small shiver made him nod.

Grabbing the heaving fur off the cot, Viggo bundled Hiccup up, laid him on his large bed, slid a dagger under his pillow just in case some misguided fool attempted to attack the boy while he slept, then slipped in behind Hiccup, his back to the wall. He vowed not to fall asleep again, that he was just in bed to help keep the child warm, but an odd thing happens when a small child sleeps next to an adult, the steady heartbeat could be felt through the mattress and their warmth, small as they may be and despite the layers of fur between them, seeps into the adult. Viggo tried to fight against it but soon he dozed off, an arm around the boy and his thoughts peaceful for first time in what felt like ages.

When next he woke it was to sensation of panic. At first Viggo didn't understand. He was in his tent, all his bed, in his safe place. He had become accustomed to waking to a falling or even burning sensation to the left side of his face but never an empty feeling. But it wasn't him that felt empty but rather something missing from his bed. He patted the mattress as his eyes opened and slowly adjusted to the darkness. The bundle of fur next to him was empty, the child inside missing. Panic tore at every inch of Viggo as he searches the fur, fearful the völva had betrayed him and Hiccup had reverted to an infant. But there was nothing hidden in the fur. His next thought was that someone had crept into the tent and stole the boy.

"Hiccup!" he called, surprised by his own fright and protectiveness. If Krogan or Johann so much as laid a finger on his boy he'd…

A small whimper jolted him. Where did it come from? It sounded so close. Unbelievably close. He sat up and listened closely. It happened again, a sleepy muffled little whimper. It came from the most unlikely of sources and Viggo found himself kneeling and looking under his bed. There was Hiccup, curled into a tiny ball, sound asleep with the Dragon Eye of all things clung tightly to his chest like a beloved toy.

"You little thief," Viggo mused but was surprisingly not angry by the fact the boy had the ancient device. If Hiccup still had his adult mind and meant to steal the Dragon Eye he would have ran with it while Viggo slept. But Viggo wasn't fool enough to trust the child with the device either. Once more he found himself squeezing behind the boy, deciding it best not to drag the child out from under the bed if that was where he felt safe. He dragged the fur along with him and covered them both. This time he held the boy close, smiling when Hiccup wiggled against his chest for warmth.

He managed only another hour or so of uninterrupted sleep before he was alerted to something dangerous wrong going on. For a moment he thought Ryker had returned but Hiccup was not afraid of Ryker. The boy grew stiff next to Viggo as the crunch of footsteps filled the tent. Two sets, both too light to be Ryker.

Light suddenly filled the tent and Viggo quietly pulled Hiccup closer to him, making sure the fur went with him and was not sticking out where it could be seen.

"Where are they?" a familiar voice snapped.

Viggo quickly covered Hiccup's mouth when the boy jolted at the voice. Of course Hiccup would recognize Johann's voice, regardless of his age.

"Perhaps he finally got rid of the whelp," Krogan's voice echoed.

Johann gave a snort. "Unlikely. He's become soft because of Hiccup. A liability. Find the boy. Drown him for all I care. I do not want Hiccup Haddock getting in our way any longer."

"And Viggo?"

There was a momentary pause and both Viggo and Hiccup could see the men searching the room, no doubt searching for the Dragon Eye. Viggo kept one hand over Hiccup's mouth while he reached for his dagger, but it was still hidden under the pillow on the bed. They were defenseless if they were found.

Johann gave a snort as he stopped his search, almost in touching reach of Hiccup. "Once he locates the King of Dragons is of no further use to us. Kill him. Make sure he has a front roll seat for the boy's death when you find them. I'm done playing games."


	9. Chapter 9

"He didn't tell you anything?" Dagur exclaimed in shock when Stoick rejoined them, ten times angrier than before, and that was pretty impressive given how outraged he was to learn his son had not only been kidnapped but spelled as well. "I can go have a chat with him if you like," the Berserker chief offered.

Stoick gave a snort. "If you can find him," he grumbled under his breath causing both young people to look at him questioningly. "There's nothing left to question," was all he said.

Astrid's eyes widened but she said nothing about it. She had already figured her chief would not be so kind about losing his son to the Hunters a second time…or was it third or forth? She had honestly lost track. Hiccup was a magnet for trouble.

Time was running out. For all they knew Hiccup could already be dead. She was beginning to lose hope. If this was grown up Hiccup she knew he'd find a way to stay safe and they may have a little more time. But this Hiccup was aging backwards and could very well be an infant right now if not faded from existence. Astrid didn't want to be someone who lost hope but it was something quickly vanishing.

"Hey, whoa, T. That's just a Terrible Terror," Dagur suddenly yelped as Toothless darted toward a little green dragon.

"At least the Terror mail hasn't changed, Astrid muttered, fulling expecting it to be some problem on the Edge. She secretly hoped it was from Johann and he had spotted the Hunter's base of operations.

Dagur caught the little Terrible Terror and untied the letter on its right hind leg. He read it quietly to himself, his eyes slowly widening. "I know where Hiccup is," he announced, his gaze shifting from the letter to Stoick. "But there's like a bazillion fliers and Hunters between us and him."

"Who sent us that?" Astrid asked, suspicious of the sudden info.

"Me…who sent me this," Dagur corrected, his gaze back on the parchment. "Just one big brother to another sort of thing."

Stoick didn't care. "Can he be trusted?"

Dagur nodded. "Yeah…yeah, he can be trusted." He glanced up again with a tiny smile. "It's those little brother you got to watch out for." He gave Astrid a wink but it was lost on her. She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about so he let it go. "Come on, bud. Let's go get our little brother. "

. . .

Viggo was beyond angry as he gathered what kittle supplies he could carry on his person without weighing himself down too much. He took only his weapons, the Dragon Eye and his notebook, the latter two going into a satchel that he slung over his shoulder. He was not handing the Dragon Eye or the notebook to Johann and certainly not Krogan. He knew what would happen if Krogan handed his finding to his master. Regardless how profitable it might be, Viggo afforded doing business with Drago Bludvist as much as possible. Krogan he could handle…Drago was another matter all together.

"Where we going?" Hiccup asked softly, his voice just above a whisper so the guards outside the tent didn't hear him. Viggo had told him to stay as quiet as possible.

"My island," Viggo answered in the same hushed whisper. He frowned as he studied the child. Hiccup had not gotten any younger but the clothing he wore no longer fit. They hung off his little body in such a way that the body was stuck wearing only an oversize tunic that looked like it much fall off any second. For bed it was fine, for going out in the elements, with a storm brewing in the distance, not so much. And Viggo had no means to rectify the situation at the moment.

"Will my Daddy be there?" Hiccup asked as he wrapped up in a large fur.

"Yes," Viggo lied. He lifted the boy on his hip. "No, no matter what happens, you mustn't let go or open your eyes. Most of these men are no longer our friends, but I still have allies. We have to rely on them to get us to my ship safely."

"I get seasick," the boy confided, sounding a little sheepish as he wrapped his little arms around the man's neck.

Viggo raised a suspicious brow. "Says the boy who flies a Nightfury at breakneck speeds."

"I like dragons not boats," the boy whined.

The man rolled his eyes. He would never understand Hiccup and his love of dragons. "Eyes closed," he reminded Hiccup. He adjusted the boy in his arms. Then, sword in one hand, Hiccup in the other arm, he swept the tent flap aside and stepped out into the open.

He knew he was in for a fight, that Krogan would have every member of his army searching for him and guarding his tent. Viggo was willing to fight his way to freedom but he didn't want Hiccup involved in a possible blood bath, or even bare witness. But it was what it was and Viggo only gave the guards a moment to decide what side they were on.

With one quick motion he sliced the throat of the first guard before the man could draw a weapon the held his sword to the throat of the second. "Drag him into the tent," he ordered in a low growl as to not draw attention. So far everyone was busy mulling around with their various duties. The second guard did as he was told and Viggo followed him back inside the tent, Hiccup still cling to his side. "Now, if you would be so kind as to throw him down the hatch under the rug. I would like to keep his death a secret for the moment."

"Death?" Hiccup squeaked, turning his head, but Viggo stopped him and pressed his face back against his shoulder.

"What did I tell you, Little One?" he reprimanded before nudging the man to hurry up. Once the body was disposed of, Viggo once more held his sword to the remaining guard's throat. "You have two options, my friend, you can escort us to my ship or join your partner in the pit."

"Sir, I was only following orders," the guard babbled.

"Yes, and you will follow new orders now, won't you?" Viggo purred menacingly.

The man swallowed thickly. "Yes, sir."

Viggo gave a nod. "Then we will find those still loyal to me." He sheathed his sword, careful not to nick Hiccup. "Close the hatch and cover it before the stench alerts anyone." It would be a while before anyone discovered the body. There was no stench of death yet but it was only a matter of time. Time was not something Viggo had.

They headed out toward the pier at a brisk pace, pausing only when someone got in their way and dispatching of them, or gaining another ally. There were still many Hunters loyal to Viggo but escape was not to come easy. The pier was heavily guarded and the moment Viggo was spotted he found himself on the wrong end of a series of arrows. His surprise wore off quickly as the men still loyal to him took action, jumping in to defend him and his young ward while others shielded them. They reversed course, heading toward the forest in hopes of finding a safe haven. Viggo wasn't used to carrying a child though, and while Hiccup was light, it threw off his balance and he couldn't move as quickly as he was used to. He wish he had a horse like back home. If he was on horse back…he sort of understood why Hiccup liked dragon back as he heard shouts from Krogan's men getting closer and closer. If they had that Nightfury right now…

Something sharp hit him in the back of the neck. He knew what it was and immediately reached to grab it even as his mind became muddled and his body pitched forward. Hiccup gave a screech in his ear, yanking the dart out of Viggo before they both hit the ground. It may have been the only that saved Viggo from sleeping into utter darkness, but it wasn't enough to starve off the sudden vertigo and weakness. Viggo grappled for his sword but his fingers felt like sausages and his vision doubled. He had enough sense to keep Hiccup tucked against him but not the strength to keep him there when hands grabbed them, yanking them apart.

"No! NO!" screeched the four year old as he was tugged out of Viggo's arms and thrown to the ground at Krogan's feet. He gave a little whimper, the fur falling around him and oversize tunic sliding down one shoulder, making him appear a poor pauper rather than the heir to an entire tribe. Tears rolled down his tiny cheeks as he looked up at Krogan with big green eyes. "I want to go home. I want my Daddy!" he sobbed, pressing his fists to his eyes. Viggo said to keep his eyes closed and if he was going to die he didn't want to see it happen.

"I'm afraid neither one will be happening today, little one," Krogan said smoothly. "Hold him steady. I don't want to miss."

Two men grabbed the child by his arms and forced him to sit up straight as Krogan raised his sword. It was all for show. He could easily brake the boy's neck or slice his throat but he wanted Viggo to bare witness of the boy's death, to see his dead eyes as blood seeped into the ground. He'd take the child's head and keep it as a reminder of what happened to their enemies.

"Krogan, no!" Viggo screamed, struggling against the men holding him. He was too weakened to fight them off. He would never reach Hiccup in time. "STOP!"

Hiccup let out a scream that was a mix of utter freight and some primal, almost dragon like.

His cry was echoed by a plasma blast the knocked Krogan flying across the wooden area. Pandemonium broke out all around them with the cries of dragons. The men holding Viggo dropped him to combat the attacking dragons. Viggo couldn't tell if there were any riders on their backs but the cry of the lead dragon was all to familiar.

"Viggo…Viggo, we gotta move," Hiccup's insistent voice told him, yanking at his arm and urging him to get up. "We can't stay here. They can't see us. They need to see us."

His entire body felt heavy. It wad a tranquilizer dart, not a de-aging one, Viggo knew that much. His mind felt sluggish and the more Hiccup pulled on his arm the sicker he felt. "Go," he whispered, blinking back the crushing exhaustion that filled him. "Make sure they see you."

"No…not going without you," the child insisted, yanking on his arm. "We go together. He said we go together."

"Who said…" He must have passed out for a bit. It was quiet when he awoke. Quiet and cold with only a small body curled next to his for heat. His entire body jerked to attention, fear hitting him like the end of a Gronkle tail. "Hiccup!" he gasped before calming as the boy nuzzled into his side, still there with his furs tightly around his small frame and partial over Viggo, as if their roles were reversed and Hiccup was trying to care for him. Viggo never felt such relief. "Oh thank Thor," he breathed, lifting the child into his arms and embracing him tightly. "I thought I lost you."

The child was stiff for a moment before relaxing and hugging him back. This child was going to be the death of him yet, but he no longer cared. It was strange parental feeing that Viggo had never felt before. The need to protect this child that wad not his. That would never be his yet was so much like him in his youth.

"Wasn't my Dad," the child whispered in a disappointed voice.

Viggo pulled him back and stared at him in surprise. "What?"

There was a quiver to Hiccup's bottom lip. "It wasn't dragon riders…wasn't my Dad. Just wild dragons."

"Oh…" Although Viggo was certain he had heard a Nightfury, that the plasma blast, a very distinctive form of dragon fire, had been from Hiccup's Nightfury. He held the child to his chest once more. "They must have escaped somewhere. Not that I'm complaining about their timing."

He struggled to his feet and moved further into the forest. It wouldn't be ling before Krogan came after them again. They had to find shelter and then a way off the island…even if it meant on dragon back.


	10. Chapter 10

Whatever had led to the dragons escaping gave Viggo enough time to get deep in the forest with Hiccup. He was not a man that liked to hide but he was out numbered and he had Hiccup with him, and while the boy had two functioning legs, he could only run so fast and tired easily. So did Viggo. The tranquilizer was still making his body sluggish but they couldn't stick to the trails. They had to forge a new path which was becoming increasingly difficult with the ran that had oh so conveniently began to fall. Thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning streaked the sky periodically causing Hiccup to jump and cry out. They had little choice but to find shelter.

It was not Viggo's first choice. A cave would have been safer but the nearest one was at least another three kilometres inland. He did his best to fight the effects of the dart but in the end they had to stop as the rain grew heavier. They were surrounded by trees with lightning overhead. It was a dangerous place to stop but Viggo made do.

Ryker always said he had book smarts but not quite survival skills, one of the few things Ryker would try to tease him with when they were children. But Viggo had proven him wrong on a number of occasions, the most recent being his escape from the volcano. Perhaps their skills sets were vastly different and perhaps Ryker was the better survivalist and warrior, not that Viggo would ever admit such a thing, but he knew how to take care of himself. He left Hiccup near a small tree with a large enough leafy canopy and the basic order to collect long branches while he went to find larger ones to build a make shift shelter. It wouldn't offer much protection but enough to both hide them as well cut back some of the rain. Once it was built, they both sat inside to wait out the storm. Hopefully it wouldn't be easily noticed by Krogan or his men.

This was not how he imagined his life right now. Viggo had planned on rejoining his tribe, continuing in the trade of dragons, learning the secrets of the Dragon Eye. He never imagined running for his life or sheltering a small child who had once been his enemy and near equal in intellect. Yet here he was with said child pressed against his side, both shivering and wet. This was a child who he could easily imagine as his own the longer they spent together. A child just as curious about the Dragon Eye as himself.

"Do you want to hear a story?" he asked, a little surprised with himself for asking Hiccup such a question.

The boy looked up with big eyes and gave a tiny nod. "Okay."

Viggo fished the Dragon Eye out of his satchel. "This is a very old, very valuable device as you already now."

The boy nodded again.

"Did you ever wonder why you found it before me? How you could claim it before anyone else?" He waited for Hiccup to answer but all he got was a shrug of small shoulders. Either Hiccup didn't remember finding it as a grown up or didn't know the answer. So Viggo continued. "I've been wondering that very question for quite some time and I think it all has to do with who you are. Did you know you're not the first Hiccup Horrendous Haddock?"

"I'm the third," the child answered, shifting to get a better look at the device.

"Yes, and come from a long line of great Haddocks, but none as great as the Hiccups, those thought to be mistakes and too small. They were the ones that led our people to greatness," Viggo explained, running a thumb over the Eye.

"Our people?" Hiccup asked, sounding baffled by the notion.

"Not all the tribes were always separate, many were once parts of larger tribes. Sometimes a family would leave and start their own. Other times people would be cast out and form their own tribe with like minded people." He let Hiccup take the Eye. "But that is neither here nor there. This device was created by the brilliant mind of the first Hiccup Horrendous Haddock. According to records he had a love for dragons much like you, and wanted to know everything there was to know about them. He began writing volumes upon volumes of his dragon knowledge hoping to teach the world about the beasts but not everyone loved dragons like him. As he got older and saw his teachings being used to destroy his beloved creatures he formulated a plan to hide his knowledge. He began the long process of inscribing his knowledge onto forged amber, each one holding secrets that could only be revealed with the help of specific dragon fires. He spent fifty long years on his masterpiece but it would over a hundred years before it was finished. Before he died he hid it away, trusting it in the care of his beloved dragon Wodensfang. It was kept a secret until another Hiccup happened upon it, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second.

"Hiccup the Second was a wild child. He had been abandoned at birth and raised by dragons. He had no knowledge of his human parents nor a care to meet them but he was a curious boy. He found the Eye in a treasure chest deep in the Wodensfang's cave and knew it was meant for him. He added to the knowledge, created his own stories but the secrets did not last long. He was captured by his human father and taken to grand palace where he was forced to be human and dragons were enslaved. Young Hiccup, just a young boy a few years older than you are now, fought for the dragons' rights and foolishly showed his father the knowledge of the Eye. He was called a traitor by his brothers was murdered for siding with the dragons. The Eye was nearly destroyed but his saw the wisdom hidden within it and he kept close to his chest, the only thing he had of his beloved Hiccup. He cast away his remaining sons then set sail with the Eye, never to be seen again…until Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third found him and the Eye."

"So it's mine?" Hiccup questioned, eyeing the device for a long moment.

"Perhaps in time," Viggo answered, taking the Dragon Eye back. "But for now it's mine."

The boy grumbled under his breath and folded his arms across his chest. "Why tell me the story and not let me keep something that belongs only to a Hiccup."

Viggo couldn't help but smile. "Ah…the mysteries of life."

"I don't like you."

"I don't like you either."

They sat in silence for a while as the rain beat on their shelter. They couldn't stay for much longer. It was only a matter of time before Krogan's men found them. Hiccup pressed against Viggo's side in an attempt to get warm.

"I'm hungry," the boy announced in a small voice.

"I know," Viggo responded, wrapping an arm around him.

"I'm thirty, too."

"Yes, I figured as much."

"I need to use the outhouse."

Viggo sighed. "There are no outhouses here. You'll have to go outside to do your business." He expected Hiccup to complain about the rain but what he said next was surprising even for him.

"I can't," the child said in a small whisper. "There's a Rumblehorn out there. I don't want him to see my bottom."

"A Rumblehorn?"

There no way there was a Rumblehorn just feet away, there would have heard it long ago. Then there was a loud crunch of something heavy landing not far from the shelter and Viggo's heart clenched. Leave it to Krogan to used a Rumblehorn to track them. He grasped the hilt of his sword, ready to fight but all of a sudden Hiccup was scrambling over him and darting out into the rain.

"Hiccup!" he yelled, trying to catch him.

"Hiccup!" another voice echoed.

Viggo froze at the edge of the shelter. He knew that voice even though they had never really spoken. No more than twenty feet from the stood the Rumblehorn Hiccup spoke of, his rider all ready dismounting to meet the four year old running toward him. Viggo hesitated only a moment longer before climbing out of the shelter to stand in the rain.

"About time you showed up, my dear Stoick," he snapped at the Hooligan chief, as if he had been put out by defending the child. "Do you have idea of the hell that child has put me through or what I had to go through to protect him from the likes of Krogan?"

For a brief moment Stoick the Vast almost overlooked the child and moved toward Viggo but then his anger vanished as he took a good look at his miniaturized son and heir. It clicked in rather suddenly that Hiccup was indeed a small child once more, unable to care for himself and that someone, as unlikely a candidate as Viggo seemed, would have had to take care of him. The fact the two were in the forest, under a shelter and no doubt in hiding would have to mean that Viggo's partner had turned against him and had ill intent for Hiccup. But the idea that Viggo would risk his own life for Hiccup seemed completely out of character for the Hunter chief. Stoick kept those thoughts to himself as he lifted his tiny Hiccup up in his massive arms.

"You're so tiny," he teased his son before embracing him tightly.

"Da-ad, ribs!" the child whined but hugged him as tightly as he could as well.

"You saved him?" Astrid asked, suspicious. "Why?"

Viggo grinned menacingly at her. "My dear Astrid, I can't simply allow a brilliant mind like his to be killed by someone as worthless as Krogan," he explained. His grin grew at the hatred in her blue eyes. He turned his attention back to Stoick. "I suggest you get him as far from this island as possible. Krogan is no doubt still looking for us."

"And what about you?" Stoick asked, adjusting his grip so that Hiccup could turn slightly.

"Your concern honors me, Stoick, but I'll be fine." He didn't say good bye to Hiccup, didn't wait to see the riders fly off. He made the long trek back to base camp, alone and lost in thought. He heard the flap of leathery wings moments later and knew he would never see Hiccup as a child again. It was both saddening and a relief.

"Where's the boy?" Krogan demanded when he reached the camp some time later. Viggo stared at him blankly for a moment, surprised when there were no weapons drawn on him like a few hours ago. Krogan must have noticed something was off to have waved his men down.

"Dead," Viggo said simply, hoping no one had seen the riders.

"Dead?" Krogan said in surprise before nodding to himself. "And the Dragon Eye?"

It was then Viggo noticed his satchel was gone and only he realized Hiccup had ran off with it when his father came for him. "Destroyed," Viggo answered, keeping his face blank. "He grabbed the bag to stop me from throwing him in the ocean. It hit the rocks and shattered along side his body."

The former bounty hunter didn't seem happy about this but a quick pat down of Viggo's body proved the Hunter chief was not concealing it. Viggo shrugged the men off once they were done.

"Since there is no longer a need for me here I will be taking my leave. Feel free to search my tent if you want anything," Viggo told Krogan as he headed toward the pier. It was time to leave. There was nothing left for him here.

He was surprised when Krogan didn't try to stop him and allowed him to board his ship in peace. But Viggo was no fool. The fliers would come for him. Death at sea was a common occurrence and no one would question it, be it the sea that took him or the fliers destroying his ship where no one could bare witness, and anyone who did would die as well.


	11. Chapter 11

The flight back to the Edge was surprisingly uneventful. Hiccup cuddled against his father for the first hour but after a bit began to feel uncomfortable. Something was missing. He couldn't figure out what at first, although he knew it was important, more important than even the bag he held tightly to his little chest. It was like a part of him was missing and it wasn't his Daddy. His mind warred with itself for several long minutes. He was with his Daddy, safe and protected. M'lady Astrid flew close on his right on her Deadly Nadder, Stormy, and his brothers, Dagur and Toothless were on his left.

That was it! He wasn't supposed to be on Skully, he was supposed to be riding on Toothless! The Nightfury was watching him with big greengage eyes. "Daddy, I want to be with Toothless," he announced, turning to look up at his Dad with pleading eyes.

Stoick blinked down at him, still befuddled by the size of his only child. His large hand tightened around the boy's middle. "You're too little to fly on your own, son. When we get back to the Edge you can play with…ah…maybe after we get you back to your normal size. Playing with dragons is too dangerous right now. Until we can stop you from de-aging…"

"Viggo already did that. I'm growing now," Hiccup explained proudly. "Not becoming a baby anymore."

"When did Viggo do this, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, having overheard him.

The child was silent for a moment. "Uhm…last night." He gave a pout. "He poked me with a needle. He was mean. But I'm not getting any smaller. Not getting any bigger either. Can I go to Toothless now?"

"No, Hiccup," Stoick said firmly as he tried to take in everything he son just said. "Well at least one problem has been dealt with. Now to figure a way to get you back to…Hiccup, stop!"

The one problem Stoick always had with Hiccup when he was little was keeping him still and now was no different. The boy managed to wiggled out of his grip and before the large chieftain could stop his son, Hiccup quite literally jumped off Skullcrusher.

"Dagur, catch!" the boy cried, aiming for his brothers.

"Hiccup!" Stoick and Astrid screamed at once.

"Holy Thor!" Dagur cried.

Toothless angled for his now little human. With surprising well timed teamwork, Dagur managed to catch Hiccup. He ignored the sharp smack of something hard against his right bicep as he held the child in his arms.

"Are you insane?" he demanded, holding the boy under his armpits to so they faced each other. "You could have been killed! You don't have your wings! That was the craziest, most foolish thing…"

"But you were deranged," Hiccup countered, not understanding why Dagur of all people were lecturing him.

Dagur's lips formed a thin angry line and he pinned Hiccup down with a glare. "I may have been 'deranged' but I was never this foolish. Do anything like that again and I'll ground you until you're Big Hiccup again and not even Stoick will stop me."

Stoick opened his mouth to object but Hiccup gave a tiny nod.

"Sorry," the boy said before hugging Dagur. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Dagur gave a shuddered breath, realizing just how much Hiccup had scared him. Not just now or even when he was captured by Krogan, but all the times Hiccup had scared him over the years, even when they were enemies. All the hair brain schemes, all those crazy inventions, all the times the fought. Hiccup had a knack for scaring him. He held Hiccup tight, waiting for his racing heart to calm down. Then he turned the boy around so that he could sit in the saddle in front of him and snuggle with Toothless. The Nightfury turned his head and gave Hiccup a lick, his long tongue lathering the child's face with saliva. Hiccup squealed with laughter and hugged his dragon as tightly as his little arms would allow him.

Dagur gave a small chuckled and rubbed Hiccup's small back. As much as he adored Hiccup being so little, he really did miss Big Hiccup. He smiled at the rumbling purr coming from Toothless as the dragon kept trying to lick Hiccup's face. "You can bath when we get home, you silly lizard. Focus on flying straight."

Toothless gave a laugh which made Hiccup give a high pitch giggle. Dagur beamed down at them both.

The fliers must have cleared out while they were gone. The outpost was a little worse for wear but otherwise nothing that couldn't be fixed. The A Team were patrolling and the moment Gustav spotted them he sped up to the returning riders. He gave Stoick a hearty salute.

"All clear, sir," he reported with a big grin. He gave Astrid a little flirting wink then a big happy smile toward Dagur. The smile faltered when he saw Hiccup. Of course none of the A Team knew about what had happened to Hiccup, with the exception of Gothi, so he mistook who Hiccup was. "I didn't know you had a kid, Dagur," he said in a mix of awe and disappointment. He and Dagur had become pretty close, almost like brothers. Surely Dagur would have told him if he had a kid. At Dagur's shocked expression, Gustav backtracked. "Okay…then who's kid is it?"

"Mine," Stoick stated, flying past.

Gustav nodded numbly, even more confused. "Okay…does Hiccup know he has a little brother?"

"That is Hiccup, Gustav," Astrid informed him as she followed Stoick.

"Yeah, I knew that," Gustav said, following her. "I mean…he's just so…so tiny?"

"Yeah, I know," she said softly before speeding off.

Gustav stared after them. "Oh wow," he breathed. He was torn between joining them at the clubhouse to learn more and flying off to tell the others. He choose to go tell the others. This was too crazy to keep to himself and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the A Team learned anyway and someone had to keep Spitelout of going psycho on everyone for being the last to know.

. . .

Once they reached the clubhouse, Dagur climbed off Toothless, gave him a living pet and then did the same to Sluether when the Triple Strike bumped him, asking for a little attention. If Shattermaster was there he's hands would be full. "Easy, boys. Little man needs me, too," he told them, lifting Hiccup off Toothless and setting him on the wooden floor. "Okay, Hiccup, let's get some food in your belly. Your big sis no doubt has something yummy to eat."

He took Hiccup's hand and led him to the table.

"Wait," Hiccup said, pulling his hand free. He gave Dagur a meaningful look before darting back toward the door.

Stoick knelt down, expecting another hug but it was Astrid the child latched onto. The young shield maiden froze in surprise, her hands raised above his shoulders as if she might break him if the touched him, a complete change from the last time they interacted. She gave Stoick a terrified look.

"Astrid?" her chief asked, not understanding.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She gave Hiccup an awkward embrace then stepped back, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she repeated before running off.

"Astrid!" Hiccup cried, reaching out for her but his father stopped him and carried him back to the table. "Dad, why is she upset? She looked scared. What did I do?"

"Nothing, son. This is all a little hard for all of us. Astrid needs to deal with this in her own way. Give her time," Stoick assured, stroking Hiccup's bangs from his eyes. "It's a lot to take in."

"Is she mad at me?"

"No…no, Hiccup. She's scared."

"Of me?"

"Of many things."

The child shook his head. "Astrid never gets scared. She's the bravest person I know."

Stoick smiled softly and lifted Hiccup into the chair. "I know, son."

Heather placed a bowl of warm stew in front of Hiccup. She had stayed quiet when they had entered, hoping to have been able to give them good news but Gothi was still busy looking for a way to return Hiccup to his proper age. "I'll talk to her," she told Hiccup, squeezing his little hand.

"No," Dagur interrupted, stopping his sister. "You stay here, I'll talk to her." At Heather's raised brow he explained. "I know she's your best friend but I need you to take care of him." He nodded to Hiccup, ignoring the fact that Stoick could very well take care of his own son. Right now Astrid needed someone willing to challenge her, not comfort her.

"I'll be back, shortly, little one," he promised Hiccup.

He hurried toward Astrid's hut, using Sleuther to fly him across since a new bridge was unlikely to be built for a few more days. "Stay," he told his dragon as he approached the door on foot. "We may need to make a hasty retreat if she has her axe."

He rapped on the door and waited only a moment for her to answer before sticking his head inside. "Hey, Ast, can we talk?"

There was an unusual sniffle from somewhere beyond the front space. "I told you not to call me that."

"No, you told me not to call you Ass. Kind of hard when you're being one," he retorted, stepping inside.

"Go away."

Dagur shut the door behind him as he stepped further inside. This was likely to get him killed. "No can do, sis. We need to talk."

She stepped out of the shadows, one hand wiping at her eyes while another gripped her favorite axe. Yep, Dagur was certain he was about to die, but it was for a good cause and Dagur had faced worse…maybe.

He raised his hands to show he was harmless. Okay, so he had more than aa dozen throwing knives on his person but he wouldn't draw one unless absolutely needed. "What's going on with you. Before you were pretty chill with Hiccup being so little. Now you're all freaked out."

She stared at him before turning her back on him. "He wasn't this small," she mumbled.

"What?" Dagur asked, not catching what she said. He did something extremely dangerous and grabbed her arm, forcibly turning her around. He immediately found himself thrown against a wall with the axe blade to his throat. He didn't let that or her sudden anger stop him. "He's still Hiccup. He's steal our Hiccup, your betrothed. Are you abandoning him?"

"No!" she cried, shoving him hard before stepping back, her axe still pointed at him. "Of course not. I just…what if Gothi can't fix him. What if he has to grow up naturally again? He's only four!"

"So you don't want to wait for him?" Dagur countered, feeling his own anger rise at the thought of her betraying Hiccup in such a way.

"Of course I'll wait. That's not what I meant." She rain her fingers through her loose hair and began pacing. "He's just a kid. I'm no good with kids. When he was ten or twelve it wasn't so bad. He was still Hiccup. Sure he acted a little more childish but now…now he's four! Four! I don't know anything about little kids. The Edge isn't a safe place for a small child. We have to take him back to Berk. And if I can't handle one little kid how can I possible raise one when Hiccup and I have our own, if we have any. I mean if he has to grow up again he'll likely fall for someone closer to his age. I'll be fourteen years older than him and…"

Dagur caught her by the arms to stop her and this time she didn't lash out. "He's still Hiccup. Astrid, I've known him all his life. Regardless how much him and I fought, how much we hated each other, one thing has always remained the same. He loves you. He loved you even before he knew what girls were. And he will love until the fay the world ends." He brushed the tears off her cheeks, feeling as if he had become her big brother at some point since joining the riders. He took a deep breath and decided to be completely honest with her. "If he was mine I would stick beside him no matter what. He deserves nothing less. He would do the same for you. For any of us. But he's not mine, he's yours. I'm going to be with him every step of the way, whether it takes a few days or fourteen years to get him back to normal. That's what you do for loved ones. You stick with them no matter what."

They stared at each other for long time until Dagur gave a nod, his spiel said. There was nothing else he could say or do. Astrid had to make up her own mind if she would stick next to Hiccup or run. He hoped she would make the right decision and not break Hiccup's heart. He left her there and headed back to the clubhouse with Sleuther. Hiccup immediately ran into his arms, asking if Astrid was okay. Dagur assured him she was but said nothing beyond that. Only time would tell. He simply held his little brother, refusing to let go even when Stoick asked for him. He had nearly lost Hiccup, he wasn't about to again.

Strangely enough, Stoick understood this and let them be, apparently knowing Dagur was Hiccup's protector now. He went to check on Gothi to see if she had any luck finding the cure, which left the two alone as Heather went to see Astrid. Apparently it was a moment Hiccup had been waiting for.

"I know who the traitor is," he announced in a hush voice, as if about to tell Dagur a great secret. "But you can't tell anyone, and you can't go all berserky on either," the child said very seriously. It was like having the grown up Hiccup back.

Dagur sat with him in one corner of the room where Toothless wrapped around them like a warm blanket. "Why do you think I'll go 'berserky'? And why aren't you telling Stoick?"

"'Cause he'll definitely go berserky and you have an established history," Hiccup answered but he wasn't teasing. He was deadly serious which was scary at his present age. He wrung his small hands together and bit his lower lip. "Promise not to tell…not yet at least? I just need to tell someone in case I don't go back to normal and I lose myself as a four year old. It's kind of hard to think like a grown up. Things keep distracting me. My mind keeps wandering and…" He shook his head and Dagur could almost see him slipping away.

"You can tell me anything, brother," he promised, touching his shoulder reassuringly.

"We really are like brothers, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are," Dagur assured, banishing the confession he had made to Astrid earlier. That's all he would ever be to Hiccup, a big brother that would protect him. Anything more was a foolish dream from a time long ago, another life.

Hiccup nodded to himself. "Trader Johann…he's the one. He's the traitor…or spy. He's working with Krogan."

Dagur stared at him in confusion. "Johann? But he's just a harmless trader."

Hiccup nodded. "That's what I thought. But he was there, Dagur, on that island. He sent Krogan to stop us and kidnap me. He ordered Viggo to kill me and then ordered Krogan to kill us both when Viggo wouldn't. That's why we were in hiding. Oh gods…he's going to kill Viggo. We need to go back and…"

"Whoa…okay, calm down. You're not making any sense," Dagur said calmly, a little taken back by Hiccup's sudden panic. "Viggo is a warrior, he can handle himself."

Hiccup shook his head. "No, I took it. I took the Dragon Eye." He shoved the satchel he had been keeping tight to his body since his rescue into Dagur's hands. "I took it and all the lenses. Johann needs them to find some Dragon King and only Viggo can figure it out."

"Or you," Dagur whispered, understanding dawning in him. But it still made no sense. Johann was a simple trader they had both known most of their lives. He shook his head. "Hiccup, you're wrong. Why would Johann do all this? He's not a Hunter. We would have known. He's been serving the Archipelago forever. What would gain by posing as a trader and acting like a sniveling fool?"

"I don't know!" the child whined, the adult half slipping away. "He just is. Just think about it…it makes sense…I'm tired. How did you learn Berk trained dragons? You said it was a credible source but you never said who."

Dagur thought for a moment. "Johann," he answered, remembering how Johann had acted fidgety and secretive, warning him that Berk had dragons and might invade if he didn't step up and put an end to it. He had been chief less than a month when Johann came to him with such claims.

"And the Smoke Breaths…was that your idea or his?"

"Savage's."

The boy frowned at the name. "I hate Savage," he grumbled.

"Well he's not very fond of you either," Dagur told him with a small grin.

"How did you break out of jail?"

"Hiccup…" This game was getting tiring fast.

"How?"

"I don't know. I conned an Outcast to give me the key." His temper was beginning to thin.

"Did you?" the child persisted.

"Why else would he give me the key?"

"After three years some random Outcast just gave you a key, on the same day Johann just happens to be on Outcast Island, distracting the Outcasts with his wears?"

Okay, when Hiccup put it that way it did seem a little too convenient. There had been little fight breaking out of prison and even less of a challenge to make it to the pier and commandeer Johann's ship where a map of his "secret treasure " had been open on a table for anyone to find. And Johann had been the one to jump overboard when they were passing near Berk, not thrown overboard as he laid claim. And he had been the one to give him all sorts of information about where Hiccup and the riders were training and tips on how to possibly capture them which had always seemed a little odd since Johann was also supposed to be a friend to Berk. What if Hiccup was right? What if Johann was a traitor? Had he sent Dagur to fetch the Dragon Eye him that fateful day, or had he sent Hiccup to do that and made sure Dagur was there to take it from him? So many questions filled him, sending his mind into a whirlwind of confusion and anger. He wanted to hunt Johann down, to hurt him and torture him and demand answers. Then he'd chop him into tiny little pieces and feed him to Sleuther and…

His hands balled into fists and he took a deep breath. No, that was old Dagur, bad Dagur. He wasn't like that anymore. A small weight on his lap made him look down to see Hiccup had rested his little head on his lap. The physical contact alone made him calm down and he carded his fingers through his brother's hair in an effect to sooth them both. It worked almost instantly. With his free hand he opened the satchel, intent on finally getting a chance to really study the Dragon Eye, but something else caught his attention. A small vial was at the bottom, next to the Dragon Eye. Dagur pulled it out and stared at it for a long moment.

"Hiccup?" he asked, hoping Big Hiccup's mind was still at the forefront.

"Hmm?"

"What's this?"

The child opened his eyes and gazed at it for a moment. "It's the medicine Viggo gave me to stop me from becoming a baby. He pricked me with a needle. He's mean and grumpy man."

"O-kay." And yep, Hiccup was gone again, but with luck this might just be what Gothi needed to restore Hiccup to his proper age.


	12. Chapter 12

"Why me?" Heather asked as she studied the vial her brother had given her.

Dagur was holding a very groggy Hiccup in his arms. The boy kept waking up, often just wanting Toothless or Astrid or just to be held because he had a nightmare. Dagur had ditched his armor in order to hold the child more comfortably and was all set to take Hiccup back to his hut to tuck him into his bed when Heather had returned. Astrid wasn't with her but it took no stretch of the imagination to know the shield maiden was still trying to come to grips with what was happening to Hiccup. She needed time and he wasn't going to pressure her any more than he had.

"Because, you're the alchemist of the group," he explained. "I just need you to figure out what it is. Hiccup said Viggo used it to stop him from de-aging. Maybe it can restore him."

"Or be a trick that can kill him and us," she countered. Nonetheless she examined the vial. "I'll have to find something to test it on. A plant or something."

"There's always a few Night Terrors kicking around," Dagur offered before quickly stepping back. "Kidding, kidding…no animal testing. I'm just saying size wise one might be good fit…and nope, forget I even said that."

She didn't respond only gave him a dirty look. There were some jokes that simply didn't fly once you became a dragon rider. Heather was definitely not one to joke with.

"Do want me to take him for a few minutes so you can stretch your arms?" she offered after carefully locking the vial in a small chest on the table that the riders were using to keep dangerous or poisonous stuff locked away from Hiccup until he was grown up again. She then placed the chest on a high shelf out of the child's reach.

"I'm okay," he insisted but she gave that look that was far too much like their mother's and he conceded.

She took Hiccup in her arms and gently rocked him as she hummed, lulling the little Hooligan heir into a sound sleep. Dagur watched in fascination. He waited until Hiccup was softly snoring against Heather's shoulder. Once the child was, he leaned heavily against the table and took a deep breath. He was exhausted. It had been well over twenty-four hours since he last slept and it was finally catching up with him. He rarely got any proper sleep, his insomnia one of the many issues he had been dealing with since his preteens, but right now he was sure if he crashed he wasn't going to get back up any time soon.

"What's wrong?" Heather questioned, seeing the stress lining his face.

For a moment he stayed silent then sighed. "Did I ever tell you how I found out you were my sister after you being missing all these years?"

She raised a thin brow. They usually avoided this subject because of all the hurt feelings it brought up between them. "I thought Savage told you. I mean he and Alvin did kidnap by adopted parents and me and…"

"It wasn't Savage," Dagur said, his voice soft as to not wake up Hiccup. He hoped his brother wouldn't be overly mad about him sharing his secret with their sister. Dagur needed to talk this out with at least one person. "It was Johann. He told me the girl with the raven hair flying a Razorwhip." He gave a little snort. "I thought he was insane. No Berserker would ever ride a dragon. Then there you were, looking so much like mom even though you have Dad's hair."

Heather's eyes widened. "Wait, Johann was the one that helped me find he you. He said you were the one that whipped out my tribe."

Dagur shook his head. He hadn't that. He had told her as much and that yes, they raided her tribe but had not killed one person in his search for her and that it had happened before he was thrown in prison. Yet someone had destroyed her tribe and Dagur was starting to suspect who. "He also told me Berk was rising an army of dragons to take over the Archipelago." He glanced up at his sister. "He played us. All of us. We've always been so dependent on him. We fell right into his hands."

But of course, Heather had to be the voice of reason and for Johann to be some sort of spy simply didn't make sense. "But why? What would the purpose be?"

"I don't know," Dagur confessed. "But I'm sure it has something to do with these…" He pulled the Dragon Eye and lenses and placed them on the desk. "…and him. Krogan went through a lot of trouble to get your lense and Johann led you right to him. Which means he knew Dad and about his research. Now, for whatever reason, he wants Hiccup and Viggo dead now which can only mean he's found whoever this Dragon King is and he doesn't want anyone getting in his way."

"But Johann? Come on, he's harmless," Heather insisted, not ready to condemn someone who had helped her over the years.

"That's what I thought but Hiccup doesn't think so and his reasoning is sound." Dagur gave a shrug. He wasn't going to let himself over worry about it for now. For all he knew Hiccup could have just had a bad dream and made it all up without realizing it. "Look, he asked me not to tell anyone so…"

"It's our secret," Heather assured.

He gave a nod. "How's Astrid?"

"She'll be fine. Fishlegs is with her." She fell silent for a moment as she rocked Hiccup. "You really are in love with him, huh?" she asked. She had cornered him on the subject of his obsession with Hiccup – Big Hiccup – before but now she was more calm about it. "Astrid told me that you pretty much came straight out about it to her. She's not mad. She knew for a long time, everyone did. I think she's worried you might not actually approve of her and Hiccup."

His eyes were wide as he stared at her then glanced at the child sleeping peacefully in her arms. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to calm down. He didn't think he was THAT obvious. "I was," he admitted before giving a big sigh. "I was…but that's in the past. Astrid has nothing to worry about. I know Hiccup loves her more than anything else. He'll never look at me the way he does her. I know that. I accept it." He gave a small laugh. "Heck, I knew way back when he was…well the age he is know. He's always had googly eyes for her. I guess when I stopped looking at him as a little kid and started thinking of him as a warrior – a small, scrawny, cuddly little warrior – is when I started thinking of him as more than a brother. And then when we became enemies it was possessiveness. I wanted him in every way a man is supposed to want a woman. But now I know that would never happen and I'm content with him as my little brother."

She studied him silently for a moment, her lips pursed in thought. "Have you ever felt that way toward a woman? Thought of them in a sexual way?"

Dagur sighed deeply, as if afraid she might think less of him. "No."

"How about other men?"

His gaze lifted toward her. "Well…there was one other guy. He's bi but it would never work out. We just messed around for a while to relieve a little stress."

"Hmm…" she hummed. "Well I do know Snotlout is bi. And to you remember Thugory, the heir of the Meathead tribe. He's into guys, and I know for a fact he likes you. Last peace treaty signing he couldn't stop staring at you."

"Probably because I wasn't demolishing anything in a fit," Dagur counter, although he was intrigued by his sister's word. He shook his head with a laugh. "When did this conversation turn into a discussion about my live life, or lack there of?"

"Just thought you should know." She gave him a cheeky grin and handed Hiccup back to him. "Go put him to bed while I study the potion. It may just be what Gothi needs."

Dagur let her do her thing, still amazed by how brilliant she was with plants and alchemy. Her mind worked a lot like Hiccup's and it made him both envy and adore them even more. They had a way of thinking that he would never fully understand. Something he never fully appreciated until recently. He snuggled Hiccup a little tighten, thankful his little brother wasn't trying to push him away or wiggle out of his grip like he often would when he was grown up. He liked Hiccup like this, small, warm, happy and cuddly. There was nothing sexual about it. Dagur felt like a big brother, as if he was truly able to protect Hiccup now. No one would ever take him away. If Krogan or Viggo or Johann ever came near his Hiccup again he'd kill them before they even had a chance to lift a weapon. This was how he should have always treated Hiccup, not as some obsession but as a treasured loved one.

"Come on, T. Let's get him to bed," he called to Toothless as he left the clubhouse. He was just mounting the Nightfury when Astrid called to him from the platform in front of her hut.

"Dagur, bring Hiccup over here," she yelled.

It wasn't quite a commanding voice but not one he took great pleasure in. There was still the sense of worry in it. Nonetheless, Dagur did as requested, not wanting to wake the child in his arms. He liked Astrid, he really did. She was an amazing warrior and Hiccup's beloved but she could also be bossy as all hell. But of course Dagur didn't really have to make any sort if decision, Toothless took him and Hiccup to her without having to be told. He happily licked the shield maiden's cheek when they reached her then looked expectantly at Dagur as he slid out of the saddle.

"He needs to go to bed," Dagur reprimanded. "We can't keep playing 'pass the Little Hiccup while he tries to sleep' game."

She gave an annoyed huff but her eyes were still puffy from her breakdown earlier. "I know that but he can't stay alone in his hut. I know Stoick is going to be there but let's face facts; this is Hiccup and his place is not Little Hiccup proof by any means."

Dagur got her meaning right away. Hiccup liked to invent and tinker and sometimes would do so when he couldn't sleep at night and that was too dangerous in his present state. "So you want him to sleep here?"

She gave a small grin. "It wouldn't be the first time. Fishlegs helped me pack up all my weapons and anything sharp. They're locked up upstairs and the stairs are blacked. He'll be safe here tonight."

Dagur was about to object but stopped himself. Hiccup didn't belong to him even if they viewed each other as brothers. Hiccup belong to Astrid…well with Astrid. Hiccup loved her, he knew that and he supported it in every way, it was just nice having Hiccup all to himself for a while. The other riders had all taken turns checking in him and hugging him but no one had taken Hiccup away from Dagur until now.

"Dagur?" Astrid asked when the young chieftain didn't hand her Hiccup. There was a hint of worry.

"Uh? Oh, sorry. Yeah, of course he should be with you," he said, a little quicker than he wanted as he shuffled the four year old into her arms.

She looked a little awkward at first, as if she might drop him but after a moment she hugged him close and seemed content. Dagur felt his heart sink. He wasn't very good at sharing but Hiccup was someone that everyone loved and could not be kept by one person.

"You okay?" Astrid asked, seeing Dagur's down crested face.

"Yeah, it's nothing."

Her lips pursed and she came to a surprising decision. "You can spend the night, too. I don't have an extra bed but there are extra furs that you throw on the floor. That way you can protect us both in case Krogan and his fliers decide to come back."

His eyes instantly brightened. While Astrid didn't truly need another person to help her protect Hiccup, after all Totthless was spending the night as well, Dagur appreciated her thoughtfulness. She gave him every extra fur she had so that he could build himself a little bed close to the main entrance. Toothless slept at the secondary one, ready to handle any possible intruder while Astrid lay with Hiccup on her bed, snuggled under the covers. Dagur watched them for a while. Astrid was tense for a long time, her arms wrapped losing around Hiccup's small form as if afraid she might break him, but Hiccup, the moment his senses detected it wad Astrid next to him, snuggled right into her. His arms wrapped around her, his little head nuzzling against her breast. His breathing was still a little off but he was content and that soon eased Astrid until she curled around him and fell asleep hugging him to her chest, her soft breath ruffling his auburn hair.

It was how it should be, Dagur reasoned, his eyes drifting shut as sleep tugged at his mind. For once he didn't dream of what might have been if things had been different between him and Hiccup. That was ship that had sailed far away long ago, now he pondered what Heather had said about Thugory and if he may have over looked something when last they spoke.

. . .

Dagur awoke with a start at the sudden sound of arguing. It was morning, he had slept the entire night without waking once which was unusual for him. He glances around frantically, fearing they were under attack and he would have to move Astrid and Hiccup but both were still sound asleep and other than being mildly annoyed, Toothless was still at his post, his ears pressed tightly to the sides of his head. Disoriented, Dagur took a moment or two to figure out where the arguing was coming from and who was involved.

"Are you kidding me?" he grumbled, staggering to his feet. He really was tired.

He chcked on Hiccup and Astrid, the two still happily tangled together…although it looked as if Hiccup had decided to hog the bed and left Astrid with the edge and next to no blanket. Dagur fixed that by wrapping one of his burrowed fur around his future sister-in-law before going to investigate the commotion outside. He expected Snotlout and the Twins to be going at it, not Stoick and Spitelout.

"Have you two lost your minds?" he snapped without a second thought. "They're trying to sleep!"

Both men instantly stopped. Stoick looked surprised then quickly apologetic, having known his son would be spending the night with his betrothed – he hadn't known Dagur would be as well. He and Spitelout were on a lower platform outside the clubhouse but their voices carried a long way.

"How's my boy?" Stoick asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Dagur didn't want to shout again and possibly wake up Hiccup and Astrid. He whistled for Sleuther and caught a quick rider to the elder chieftain. "Exhausted," he reported. "I'd let him Astrid rest for today before heading to Berk." He had no doubt that was Stoick's goal now that Hiccup was safe, especially if Gothi and Heather couldn't find a way to get back to his proper age.

"So now you're taking orders from a Berserker?" Spitelout accused Stoick.

Dagur bit his tongue and counted slowly in his head. He needed to meditate but hadn't had time the last few days. He really didn't like Spitelout.

"Dagur has been looking out for Hiccup since he joined the riders," Stoick said, coming to his defense. "Yes, he had a rocky start but my son trusts him and that's good enough for me."

Spitelout gave a snort. "He could have been in on this. Wasn't he the one that lost Hiccup to the fliers? He's a spy!" He pointed one sausage size finger at Dagur and it took all the Berserker's will power not to break it.

Dagur wasn't going to argue or try and prove himself to the like of Spitelout Jorgenson. He had done enough of that with everyone else but he couldn't but be relieved when the younger Jorgenson male came running up to them.

"Hey, Dagstr…gur, Dagur! We may have found something," Snotlout said, remembering only at the last moment not to say the silly nickname he had given Dagur.

"Saved by the Snotman," Dagur exclaimed, shooting Spitelout a glare.

"Not fair, Dags," Snotlout grumbled but brightened slightly when Dagur smiled.

"Get me away from these two and you can call me whatever you want for the next thirty seconds."

A great big smile stretched Snotlout's face as he led Dagur into the back room of the clubhouse where Heather and Gothi were hard at work. "Dag, Dagster, Dagman, Dagorama, Gurry, Dag-gurr…" and the names went on until Dagur finally had enough and slap a hand over his mouth.

"And that would be thirty seconds," he announced when it was clear less than ten.

Snotlout gave an annoyed snort when Dagur pulled his hand away. "Fine, just one more, and Hiccup will love this one."

Dagur rolled his eyes.

"You're our Sunshine," he said sweetly with a flutter of his eye lashes.

The Berserker stared at him for a long moment before giving an evil smile but it wasn't Snotlout he address but rather the Twins watching Heather. "Ruff, Tuff, where's that pit you dug specifically to throw Snotlout in?"

Snotlout's face fell.

"Just out back," Ruffnut answered. "You can probably throw him right out that window and hit it."

"Ruffnut," Heather reprimanded, looking up from her work.

Dagur's grin grew devilish until Snotlout eeped and ran off.

"You, my good man, need to be here more often," Tuffnut announced. "You're the only one, other than Thor Bonecrusher, that can get him to move like that. Of course with Bonecrusher he's usually running toward him and not away."

"Tuff!" Fishlegs whined in annoyance.

The male twin only laughed at the larger youth's discomfort. Dagur sighed and shook his head. Snotlout was easy to scare, Tuffnut was someone he still couldn't figure out. He decided to ignore him in favor of Heather.

"Snotty said you found something?" he asked, shooing the Twins away to get a better look at what Heather, Gothi and Fishlegs were doing.

Heather gave him a small disapproving frown. "You know you shouldn't give him nicknames if you can't accept when he gives you one."

"Hey, you know how I feel…"

Her eyes hardened. "I don't care. It's give and take. If you can call him names then he has the same right."

He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay…okay."

The Twins looked on in surprise. "Whoa…Mama Heather," Ruffnut whispered to which her brother only nodded.

"So what did you find?" Dagur asked, ignoring the twins.

On the table were three plants at different stages of growth, a sapling, a fully flourished one and another that was beginning to wither away. Heather's gaze was intently only the last two.

"So I went with plants," she said, stating the obvious. "They were all saplings like this one." She pointed at the first one. "We decided to use only a drop in this one and two for this one." She indicated each plant as she spoke. "With one drop this plant went grew incredibly fast and flourish but when we put in two it grew rapidly then withered away. So it will age Hiccup the problem is in how much and how fast."

"It would be too dangerous to let him grow as rapidly as he de-age," Fishlegs added. "The human body is no designed for rapid growth. The physical and mental stress could kill him if not drive him insane. Growing pains alone will have him bedridden until it's done, not to mention his mental state. From what Astrid told me last night, Hiccup is mentally becoming his present physical age. To go from that back to an adult can tear his mind apart."

Heather nodded. "And if we give him too much he could shoot past his proper age to one much more advanced." She hesitated, glancing up at Fishlegs before looking back at her brother. "He could become an old man and…well…wither away." She gestured at the dying plant. "Whoever designed this made sure that it would kill Hiccup if not given the exact dose needed."


	13. Chapter 13

Dagur was left in a daze. They couldn't fix Hiccup without possibly accelerating his growth and possibly turning him into an old man. He felt faint at the very thought. Hiccup could very well be stuck as a child and have to grow up all over again. That was why Stoick and Spitelout were arguing outside. Hiccup couldn't become chief as a child. It would take at least another fifteen years before he was an adult again. Fifteen years before Stoick could even consider retiring, and Dagur knew for a fact Stoick had been planning on Hiccup taking over much sooner than that. Dagur wasn't sure what to do. He adored little Hiccup, loved carrying him around and doting on him but he missed his brother. He missed the Hiccup that fought to help keep his anger under control, that would watch him with curiosity as he mediated, that helped him train and calm dragons. He missed the Hiccup that had become his conscious and helped him remember wrong from right and when excessive force wasn't needed. Little Hiccup did much of the same but it WASN'T the same.

"You need more plants," he managed to say to Heather. "Ruff, Tuff, find more saplings. Fishlegs, keep me informed. Anything Heather and needs I want to know immediately."

"Where are you going?" Heather asked as he turned to leave.

His heart was racing and wouldn't calm down. A cold sweat had broken out on his forehead as he fought back the fear eating inside him as he thought of what might happen if Hiccup was stuck like this, growing up all over again and possibly losing his grown up memories as his mind reverted completely to that of a child. "I need to clear my head," he told her. "I'll be back soon."

He dashed off, whistling for Sleuther before disappearing with his dragon into the forests. He needed to mediate in private.

. . .

The voyage home was surprisingly uneventful. For a while the fliers had followed him closely, either expecting treachery or some other form of betrayal. Viggo paid them little mind as his thoughts wandered chaotically. He felt a wide range of emotions he was not used to. Anger at losing the Dragon Eye to a small child was at the top of the list but not the most powerful one. Confusion and sorrow were, and an unusual longing he never thought he would ever feel. He missed having the child in his arms. He missed the childish awe the boy had when he told him the story of the Dragon Eye. He liked having someone listen so openly and readily to him, someone who despite their present age, understood him. That had always been lacking in his life. Yes he had followers, but none of them truly listened or understood what he told them. No one had ever challenged him like Hiccup had. No one had ever cared for him the way the child had, touching his scar, apologizing for it having happened, trying to make it better with a simple kiss. It was all so childish but it had touched something inside Viggo that warmed his heart and made him wonder, if only for a moment, if he was ready to be a father. He doubted it, he was a warrior and chieftain, he didn't have time to court some maiden and father a bunch of children. He didn't like children…or so he always thought. Now he was no longer so sure.

He didn't notice when the fliers turned away, couldn't quite answer why they let him go. His ship was dragon proof but as the dragon riders had proved time and again, it wasn't unsinkable. Perhaps it was the towering peaks of Hunter Island that scared them off. The watch towers and outposts along the rocky edges housed many warriors that served as sentries against foe and dragon alike. Viggo sailed down the straight that separated the island in two, passing the huge stone guardians of his great and great, great grandfathers. This was the birth place of the Dragon Eye, where the original Hiccup had created in sentries ago and where Hiccup the second met his grizzly death. It was a place Viggo wanted Hiccup the third to one day see and hopefully learn to understand this was where the Eye was meant to stay. But Hiccup, while extremely intelligent was also one of the most stubborn people Viggo had ever met.

He should have kept him.

The greeting when he docked was a warm one. Many were surprised to see him, others were surprised he came home alone making them question what had happened to the men who had accompanied him when he joined Krogan. Viggo promised to explain everything at a council meeting later that night. Right now all he wanted was to go home, but that wasn't his castle anymore. He looked at it with distain. He was one of the few Viking chieftains with an actual castle and he could care less about it. It had been the place he and his brother had grown up surrounded by servants and slaves but now it served as an empty reminder of his failures. Instead he turned toward a newly built modest hut not far from it. It was elegantly built, designed by someone Viggo never thought had an eye for beauty. He had never been so wrong before.

He rapped on the door, feeling slightly out of place and oddly humbled when he heard childish laughter from inside. He waited with baited breath as heavy footstep thumped across the floor. When the door open he felt both relief and the sting of tears as his older brother looked down at him, two small children, one nearly the same age of young Hiccup, dangled off his large arms.

"Viggo?" Ryker asked in surprise, having been home just over a day and not expecting his younger brother and chief to make any more demands of him after quitting the Hunters – active duty at least, he wasn't about to leave the tribe.

Viggo's brown gaze wasn't on him so much as the children in his arms. "He's gone," he said simply, staring at the youngest child, a little boy with black hair and bright blue eyes.

"Uncle Viggo!" the child cried, launching himself at Viggo.

"Ellye, Vyctor, go find you mama while I talk with your uncle," Ryker ordered, shooing the kids inside and shutting the door behind him. He gestured with his head for him and Viggo to take a walk through the city. The Hunters were a wealthy tribe and one of the largest in the north. It sprawled out over the land for miles with stone streets and larger than average huts surrounding the castle and town square. "What do you mean he's gone? Did he…"

Viggo shook his head. "I managed to stop that but his father came."

"And?"

Normally Viggo would bristle and get on edge at being talked to in such a way but this time he stared at the road ahead unsure of himself. "I let him go." He blinked back forbidden tears and let some of his anger through. "I let him go and he stole the Dragon Eye!" He threw up his hands in frustration. "I'm an idiot."

Ryker hummed, nodding. "I like it, gone on."

Viggo have a grunt of annoyance. "He has the Dragon Eye…and my notebook."

"So what? You plan to attack the Edge to get it back?"

"Yes! NO!" He ran his hands over his face and the burned side again tingled at the memory of small fingers touching the scarred tissue. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing. Johann betrayed us. He commanded Krogan to kill Hiccup and me. I claimed I killed Hiccup and the Eye was destroyed in the process. I even let them search me. I don't know why they let me go. But if they find out Hiccup is alive and has the Eye…"

"The kid's toast," Ryker finished. He eyed his brother for a moment. "And what do you want, Viggo?"

The younger Grimborn tensed. He was about to say he wanted Hiccup back, that he wanted the child to be his, but he knew such a thing wasn't possible. Even being so young at the moment, Hiccup would still rebel against him. He no linger knew what he wanted or what he was fighting for. He glanced up at his brother, the one he had betrayed, the one who had stood beside him even at his worst and followed a plan that should have assured his death. "To make amends…to you, dear brother."

Ryker raised a brow, unsure if he heard Viggo right. But his brother was deadly serious. He gave a small nod. "It's a start," he said, a smile slowly curling his lips. "It's a good start, but how about we drop the 'dear' and stick to Ryker."

A ghost of a smile tugged at Viggo's lips. "If that's what you wish."

. . .

Days passed as Heather, Fishlegs and Gothi worked. Most of the A Team had returned to Berk when no furyher attacks hit the Edge. Stoick stayed to be close to Hiccup, slipping right back into Daddy mode and happy to have such a small version of his son to cuddle once more. Gustav stayed to "stand guard" but pretty much became a glorified babysitter by his own choosing, declaring he knew the most about four years since he had a baby sister now the same age – which was also the reason he had joined to A Team to escape from her. But he doted on Hiccup every moment he got, as well as replayed every lecture Hiccup ever gave to him about being too young to be a dragon rider whenever Hiccup tried to escape with Toothless. And none of the riders could argue the point with Gustav because Hiccup was now clearly too young to ride a dragon. The arguments they had was truly to die for and everyone would gather to hear the latest reasoning for why Hiccup should be allowed to ride while Gustav expertly carried him away from the Nightfury reprimanding him for not listening again. It was all in good jest because a moment later Gustav would suggest Hiccup was dirty and Toothless would come bounding after them to groom his rider. In short, Little Hiccup was no longer amused by his small size.

Gustav wasn't the worst of Hiccup's caregivers by far. Astrid wouldn't let him do anything remotely dangerous – at least in her eyes. He couldn't even cross the new bridge from her hut to the clubhouse without holding hers or someone's hand. Couldn't even go to the outhouse without someone helping him up on the seat – whish was embarrassing as all Hel. Needed someone to cut his meat since he wasn't allowed a knife. Astrid was literally all over him unless Dagur or someone else managed to get there hands on him for a while. The Twins were the most fun and he tended to get into a lot of trouble with them. Sometimes they played hide and seek which turned into hide the Hiccup from the panicking Astrid who would threaten the Twins with her axe if they didn't make him reappear real fast. Food fights were the best with them and sent Hiccup into giggling fits. They always made sure he had a ton of bubbles at bath time. Snotlout was the most annoying though. He acted as if he was the boss and would always grill Hiccup at bedtime.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Snotlout would demand as Astrid got Hiccup ready for bed.

"Did you?" Hiccup would counter, imitating his cousin by crossing his small arms across his chest and mimicking his scowl.

Snotlout simply gave a grunt. "Did you wash behind your ears?"

"Do you ever wash behind your ears?"

"We're not talking about me, Hiccup. Are you wearing fresh skivvies?"

Hiccup brows furrowed. "Why do you want to know about my skivvies. You're being kind of nosy."

Snotlout pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Of all the stupid, messed up, usel…" He immediately stopped, his eyes widening at what he was about to say and the sudden hurt look on Hiccup's face. "No! Not what I meant to say."

Hiccup gave a small sniffle, drawing Astrid's attention to what was being said. "You were about to call me Useless again."

Snotlout shook his head. "No, I wasn't," he quickly denied, kneeling to Hiccup's level. "Because it would be a lie. You're not useless, you never were. Those things I said long ago were all lies. I lie. I'm bad for that. But you, listen to me, you are not useless. You were never ever useless. And you never will be."

"But…"

Snotlout scooped him up and gave him a tight hug. "Sometimes I say things I don't mean. I'm stupid that way. I'm sorry, Hiccup."

The child hugged him back. "I'm going to remember this when I grow up again," he warned, burying his little face against his cousin's neck.

"And I'll probably suffer for it, too," Snotlout sighed before tucking Hiccup in and making a hasty retreat to clean his tunic where Hiccup had wiped his little nose.

The best, next to his Dad and Dagur who spoiled him absolutely rotten, but we'll get to that soon enough, was Fishlegs and Heather. Fishlegs told the best stories and was more than happy to share all his dragon knowledge with Hiccup, much of which Hiccup was beginning to forget. It was like relearning everything he already knew but couldn't remember. And Fishlegs was ecstatic to be his teacher. He'd let Hiccup sit on his lap for hours and just chatter away when not helping Heather. And Heather sung to him and would dance with him in her hip. Sometimes she'd let him help gather saplings for her experiments but he never got to join her when she got down to work. Then Hiccup would be locked out of the room and have to find someone to play with.

Toothless was always with him, willing to play or let him ride on his back whenever Gustav wasn't looking. They played tag on the beach, but only if a grown up was there to make sure Hiccup didn't play in the ocean by himself. What confused Hiccup the most though was Dagur.

Dagur doted in him and took him for rides on Toothless and Sleuther. He wad everything a big brother was supposed to be, but he was also very sad. He meditated more and more often, sometimes disappearing hours on end. When he did returned he looked no better than when he left, still lost, still confused, and still longing for the Hiccup that-used-to-be. That's Hiccup started referring to his old self as. He knew he wasn't going back to the old Hiccup. He had made amends with that. Now he was growing up with a bunch of big brothers and sisters and people were playing with him unlike the first time he had been a kid. He knew he was missing something important, that the others missed the big him but he was okay little. He was happy and Toothless was happy and his Daddy was smiling more. What was wrong with that?

Not everyone agreed with him though. Each day Dagur would meditate for hours on end, trying to figure out what they were missing. The vial was almost empty and Heather had yet to figure out a cure. Gothi wasn't much help and after nearly a week had broke the news to Stoick that they made just have to let Hiccup grow up naturally again. Astrid was committed to stay by his side and wait for him, her love shining through the heartbreak. And the other riders agreed as well. Dagur didn't. He was determined that the cure was in the vial they just needed to figure out the right dosage.

He meditated and meditated, not moving for hours on end but nothing helped, not at first.

Meditating was not something Hiccup was any good at, although he did try to imitate his big brother from time to time. He sat cross-legged in front of Dagur, breathing in deeply then out in time with Dagur, but he couldn't sit still. At first this annoyed Dagur and he tried to coax the little hellion through it but often failed miserably. Hiccup was always on the move. But when Hiccup decided to invade Dagur's space, wave his hands in front of Dagur's face and make little popping sounds, Dagur just about lost it. He gave a roar, causing the boy to jump back with a fright and stare up at him with wide eyes. Dagur broke out laughing. He hadn't meant to scare Hiccup so bad but the look on his face was priceless and he ended up tickling the child until the boy was writhing with laughter.

Something hit as Hiccup tried to escape the onslaught of tickles. A memory he had forgotten of the day Hiccup began to change, or more precisely the battle before. Krogan had hit Hiccup with poisoned darts. Hiccup had said Viggo had pricked him with a needle. The cure couldn't be administered by drops by the tip of a needle. A tip soaked in the cure which would be a fraction of a fraction of a drop. It seemed crazy and unlikely but the math made sense in his head. Krogan had hit Hiccup with at least two darts. Viggo had used one to stop his de-aging so two should be enough to restore him. He needed to test out this theory as soon as possible. And he needed a living subject, not a plant.

He waited until after dinner when the others went to the beach for the evening bomb fire while the weather was still nice. He slipped into Heather's workshop and took the vial as well as some needles from the medical chest and carried them out to the common room. He had come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to do animal testing. He would test it on himself. He was the only one not necessary to the riders and if he failed or overdosed then Heather would take over the Berserkers in his stead. They couldn't wait fifteen years for Hiccup to grow up.

Opening the vial he dipped the first needle into the remaining bit of liquid. He'd try one first, see how that went and then do the second. No one would know until it took effect. His left hand balled into a fist and he stared at the big blue vein just above where Hiccup's name was tattooed. He was doing this for Hiccup. He was doing this to make sure his future wasn't lost to him. Taking the needle between his right thumb and forefinger, he went to pierce his own flesh.

"NO!" a small voice screamed, and just as Dagur was about to put the needle into the vein of his inner left elbow, a small hand got in his way and the needle went into soft flesh. A scream tore through the room.

"Hiccup!" Dagur cried, his eyes wide in shock as the boy yanked his hand away, the needle scrapping a nasty line as Dagur pulled it out as quickly as possible.

Hiccup began kissing the back of his hand as if to take away the sting of the prick. "What were you thinking?" he yelled at Dagur, tears welling in his eyes. Then he hit Dagur in the chest. "You're stupid! Testing that on you? You didn't think!" He hit Dagur again, harder this time. "You never think!"

Dagur grabbed his flailing arms when the next hit knocked over the vial before he could grab it. It rolled over the edge of the table and hit the floor, the remaining liquid spilling to the floor. "Hiccup!" Dagur cried in dismay as the cure seeped into the wood.

But the boy didn't care. He pulled away from with a cry. "What am I supposed to do if something happens to you? You're my big brother. You're supposed to take care of me. This isn't taking care of me if you're risking your life just to make me big again. It's stupid! You're stupid! I hate you! I…"

Dagur was taken back by the rage in the child's voice but he didn't have a chance to dwell on his words as Hiccup suddenly swayed and then pitched forward. Dagur just had enough time to catch him before he hit the ground. He held the boy in both arms and turned toward the others.

"Dagur, what were you thinking?" asked Heather, kneeling down to pick up the now empty vial.

"You needed a test subject," he tried to explain, feeling foolish now. He held Hiccup's unconscious form. "I didn't for this to happen. I didn't want him to hate me."

"He doesn't hate you," Astrid soothed, taking Hiccup from his arms. "He just panicked. He loves you. And he's right, as his big brother you should protecting him, not being foolish. We'll find a cure, you just need to be patient." She paused, glancing at the scratch across the back of Hiccup's right hand. Her eyes widened as she looked to Dagur. "Did you…"

He swallowed thickly. "It was supposed to be me. He got in the way. I didn't have time to pull back."

"Oh gods," she breathed, falling to her knees with Hiccup in her arms. "Dagur, what have you done?"


	14. Chapter 14

Stoick had barely managed any time with Little Hiccup after first getting him back. Dagur had pretty much claimed him and then the riders were taking turns with the boy, acting like a bunch of big brothers and sisters and in some cases, such as Astrid's or even Dagur's, oddly enough, a parent. But after learning Dagur had tried to experiment on himself to find a cure for Hiccup, and said little boy intervening and being administered the potion by accident, Stoick had stepped in. It wasn't because he was mad at the Berserker chief or no longer trusted him, far from it. He knew Dagur's heart was in the right place even if his actions had been foolhardy at best. Panic had filled Stoick. Panic at losing his only child, not only of him growing old and dying before him eyes but of suddenly losing this one chance to make things right. Hiccup's childhood had not been a good one after losing his mother. Stoick had been left a single father while still being a chieftain to an entire tribe during a time when they were at war with the dragons and many people were being killed and livestock stolen. Stoick didn't have time to be a full time parent and had often left Hiccup with Gobber or Spitelout. And when he dis get to be with his boy, those rare times they had tried to bond, he couldn't understand his child or the way his worked. He still didn't in many ways but they had come together. It only took fifteen years. Now he had a chance to bond with his son as a small child once again and even if it was only a few hours and days before he reverted to an adult, Stoick was going to make the best of it.

So he did everything he knew Hiccup liked, from dragon watching to flying to telling adventurous stories. If Hiccup liked it they did it. Strangely enough, Hiccup didn't grow as fast as everyone thought he would. If anything he didn't seem to grow at all, at least not right away. He pretty much a bubbly four year old from the time he awoke after passing out in Dagur's arms – turned out the child had taken such a panic attack that he couldn't draw enough air into his lungs mixed with the effects of the potion – right until it was almost bed time. He road on his father's shoulders as they hiked around the island, pointing different species of dragons and chattering away about them. They made camp on the other side of the island where they were able to spend some father-son time pretty much on their own. The riders checked on them every few hours.

Hiccup had grown a full two inches by the time they tucked in for bed.

"Daddy," the child began, laying on Stoick's chest under the stars, his tiny hand knotted in his father thick beard. Toothless's large head rested on the man's lower half and nuzzled Hiccup's bare feet. "Do you think Dagur is still mad at me?"

"What makes you think that, dearheart?" Stoick asked, resorting to a nickname Valka used to call Hiccup when he was a babe.

Hiccup shrugged his small shoulders. "Sometimes he gets mad at me and doesn't forgive me. Last time it took four years and a war. I don't want him mad at me. I don't want to lose him again. That's why I got mad. I shouldn't have said those mean things to him."

Stoick stroked his back. "No, you shouldn't have, but Dagur is not a teen anymore. He's a grown man and has learned to manage his temper a bit better." At least Stoick hoped so. "Besides, he wouldn't be doing flybys to check on you every hour or so if he was still mad. Sometimes when you love someone so much you'll do anything for them, even risk yourself. It can be dangerous and foolish and sometimes people don't stop to think of their own safety. Perhaps you should apologize to him. I know that would mean a lot to him."

Hiccup nodded. "I will, Daddy," he promised. He snuggled into Stoick some more. "Can you tell me a story about Mommy?"

Stoick's chest tightened. Hiccup hadn't asked about Valka in years. He had given up on the whole idea of his mother coming back and accepted the fact she had most likely been killed by dragons. It didn't diminish his love for the creatures, after all they had been at war at the time and the dragons of their region were under the control of the Red Death, if anything he protected them more, perhaps in hopes of one day finding her final resting place as he had helped Dagur find Oswald's.

"She was an amazing woman, your mother. With flaming red hair, lighter than yours but darker than Dagur's," he told his son, wrapping an arm around his tiny form, knowing in the morning he may waken to a teenager. "Oh could she fight. She could clumsy as a drunk yak when she wanted to but she had spirit. Even managed to take down a squad of Outcasts once. And she loved dragons, just like you. Had I listened to her when you were a babe we may never have lost her. She knew, just like you did, that there was a better way. She may no longer be with us but she lives on…in you."

"I miss her," Hiccup whispered with a big yawn. He didn't even remember her but he missed her all the same.

"I miss her, too, son." He stared up at the stars, wondering as he had so many times in the past if she had somehow survived and where she might be now if she had.

When they awoke in the morning there was very little noticeable change to Hiccup. He was a little bigger, maybe five or six at best. Stoick was ecstatic. He had figured he's wake up to a teenager, most likely grumpy at losing his leg once more or being cuddled by his father like a small child. But Hiccup was still a small child. They spent the morning fishing until Hiccup became bored and started hunting for trolls like he used to. It would have been cute if Toothless didn't get his head stuck in a log trying to follow Hiccup into log while on the troll hunt. Pulling a half ton dragon out of a log with a child squealing in laughter was just about enough for Stoick to want his grown up son back.

They were back at the outpost by lunch time.

Stoick was trying to think of something less strenuous to entertain his son with when the happened upon Snotlout who was about to head out to find them. He seemed a little awkward when he saw his chief but smiled kindly at Little Hiccup as the boy bounded across the platform to tell his cousin all about the trolls he had been searching for. When Snotlout was a child he would roll his eyes and push Hiccup away, telling him he was annoying and trolls were not real, but now he smiled and nodded and listened as his little cousin went into detail about his adventures. He didn't interrupt or stopped him and waited until Hiccup was done, hid hands clasped behind his back the entire time.

"Wow, I missed all that?" he cooed, kneeling to Hiccup's level. "I'm going to have to tag along next time."

"Really?" Hiccup chirped, obviously excited that Snotlout was interested in his story.

"Yep, maybe between the two of us we can catch one."

Hiccup beamed happily but his smile only got brighter when Snotlout revealed what was hidden behind his back. It was a black plushie dragon sewn together from one of Snotlout's old blankets. Hiccup's eyes widened as he took it into his arms. It was so soft and cuddly. He hugged it tightly before launching himself at his cousin and hugging him even tighter. "Thank you! Thank you! I love it!"

Snotlout chuckled. "I like you like this. Smaller and more appreciative." He gave Hiccup a little squeeze. "How about you put a good word in for me with Heather, show her how loveable and caring I am."

"Okay," the boy chirped, letting go to dash into the clubhouse. "Astrid! Look what Snotlout made me!"

"He's not going to tell Heather," Snotlout grumbled, straightening.

Stoick nodded with a hum. "No, but he's sure to tell everyone else," he warned, patting his nephew's shoulder.

"I thought he would be bigger by now," the raven haired youth observed, tilting his head as he watched Hiccup show off his new plush dragon. "He only aged by two years, if that."

"Aye, much slower than he de-aged from what I hear. It may take a week before he's back to normal." But he had a big grin plastered on his face as he watched his boy show off his new toy to the riders. He couldn't recall Hiccup so happy and bubbly when he was little and he was going to enjoy what little time he had with his son at this age, as much as possible.

Of course, he wasn't the only one. Once the riders knew Hiccup was okay and not about to suddenly grow old and wither away, they flocked to him, wooing and awing over his new toy and congratulating Snotlout for his sewing skill and for the thoughtful gift. It earned him a smile from Heather that made him blush but not as much as the look of awe that Ruffnut gave him, or the slap on the back from Dagur.

"He can't ride his dragon so give him one he can carry anywhere," Dagur said proudly. "Toothless might get jealous."

"Doubt it." Snotlout watched his cousin with awe. "If anything Toothless might try to lay claim to it."

"It is a stuff Nightfury," the Berserker agreed. He patted the smaller man's shoulder. "You did good, Snotlout."

"He said my name," Snotlout breathed, taken back by the fact Dagur had used his proper name rather than a silly nickname.

"Hey kiddo," Dagur greeted Hiccup, grinning when the boy became a little shy.

"Are you mad at me?" Hiccup asked softly, hugging his stuff dragon.

Dagur raised a surprised brow. "Why would I be mad?"

"Because I was mean."

Dagur sighed. "Hiccup."

"I'm sorry."

The Berserker chief shook his head and knelt down. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just happy you're okay. You scared me and I don't like getting scared."

Hiccup sniffled. "Me neither."

"Then you two are good," Stoick announced, strolling up to them. He placed a large hand on Hiccup's small shoulder. "I'm taking Hiccup back with me to Berk. I have duties to attend but Hiccup needs me as well."

"Da-ad!" the child whined. "I want to stay here. My friends are here."

Stoick folded his arms across his chest and gave the boy "the look". Hiccup quickly fell silent but gave Dagur a pleading look, as if his brother may have better like convincing Stoick to let him stay but the elder chief bet him to the punch.

"Stop being whiny or I won't get you anything when Johann arrives later this week." He gave a little goofy smile when Hiccup widened his eyes, thinking he had made his son happy at the idea of new art supplies or a possible toy from a far off land.

"Okay," Hiccup said slowly, his adult mind emerging as he glanced once more at Dagur.

With the exception of Heather they had told no one about Johann being the traitor for fear of word getting out and Johann learning he had been found out. Dagur had received word from an ally that the Hunters thought Hiccup was dead and the Dragon Eye was lost. If that was true than this might be their only chance to capture Johann.

"I'll come with you," Dagur quickly offered. "Berk's a long flight and we'll have to make a lot of stops between here and there for Hiccup."

Hiccup frowned at him but didn't object. His mind was on Johann and how they could possibly stop him. After all, he was just a little kid now. He probably wouldn't be full grown in time to face off against the traitor. He needed a plan. He needed to grow up faster. But even as that thought came to him his gaze shifted to his bare left foot and fear seized his heart.


	15. Chapter 15

Hiccup began to steadily grow older. It was only two to three years per day but it was enough to notice each morning. The return flight to Berk was uneventful, but they stayed above the cloud coverage when they could and Hiccup explained the issue with Johann. At first Stoick didn't believe him. He had known Johann nearly twenty years and thought of him not only as a visiting merchant but also a friend. He had spent many a winter out on the ice breaker, the sturdiest ship in his Hooligan fleet, clearing a safe passage for the trader. Johann had always doted on Hiccup as a child, bringing him unique gifts and treats from far off lands. Johann had even gone out of his way to retrieve the lost stuff dragon Valka had made Hiccup as a babe. For all that to simply be ruse seemed unlikely. Hiccup had to be wrong. Johann would never wish harm upon Hiccup or any other. Johann was a staple of the Archipelago, he helped people not plot against them. But his son's story did give him pause as he considered all the strange things that began to happen after the war with the dragons ended. Most he had blamed on Mildew and the Outcasts or even the Berserkers but some had begun before that.

When Hiccup and Toothless defeated the Red Death rumors were sure to fly and other tribes were likely to hear but Alvin and his Outcasts had attacked AFTER the dragons were sent away. Yes, his information on who the Dragon Conqueror had been misleading but the timing had been uncanny. Dagur confirmed it was Johann who told him Berk was training an army of dragons and then offer guidance on ways to capture Hiccup and Toothless while at the same time providing intel to Berk. Then there were the many times the riders had rushed off to help Johann and wound up in some sort of trouble. The whole issue with the Smokebreaths and countless other dragons. It seemed unlikely but the more Stoick thought about it the more he could see why Hiccup thought Johann was a traitor, not that Stoick agreed. Johann simply was not the type of person to make such things up. He liked to talk and tell stories and no doubt hadn't thought twice with regaling Dagur with stories of dragons and probably didn't even realise he had endangered Berk until it was too late.

But Hiccup insisted Johann was a traitor and that he had ordered Krogan to kill him and Viggo.

"I'll talk with the council," Stoick promised his son as they rode together on Toothless. "You can't just make a accusation like that without proof, son."

Hiccup threw up his hands in anger. "Why don't you ever believe me?"

"I believe you witnessed someone who may have sounded like Johann making threats, but given you state of mind and the potion running through your body…"

"I'm not making this up!" Hiccup cried out in anger.

"Stoick," Dagur called over, flying Sleuther next to them. He kept his face emotionless as he met the elder chief's stern gaze. "Either you arrest Johann or I will. And I think he'd get a better trial with you than me. If I capture him on Berserk it's an instant death sentence for treason."

The elder chief gave a low angry growl but he knew Dagur was right. If he was taken into custody on Berk he would have a fair trial. Anywhere else and he could be beheaded on the spot. But he still needed to discuss the situation with the council and see how they felt. Losing Johann could cost them access to the outside world unless they found a replacement merchant.

He gave Dagur a small nod. "Alright," he told Hiccup. "We arrest him and have him stand trial. But you need more proof than overhearing a conversation."

Hiccup nodded. "Let him think I'm dead," the child said softly. "Don't tell anyone else what's going on."

That was easier said than done. Everyone knew Toothless so when they saw Stoick land with him and a child, as Dagur and Gustav, who tagged along proclaiming he was Hiccup's new body guard, and Skullcrusher landed behind them, everyone came to see what was going on. Dagur managed to get Hiccup in his family hut before the masses descended upon them and left Stoick to tend the crowd as he beckoned Gustav and Toothless to follow. Hiccup wasn't sure what his father told the villagers but he quickly discovered he had lost the freedom he had on the Edge.

Because what happened to him was now supposed to be a secret, with the exception of the council and A Team knowing and managing to keep quiet, Hiccup was under house arrest. Stoick only answered basic questions but did not give any details about why Hiccup and Toothless were home without the other riders, leaving it to their imaginations for what was truly going on. Very few had actually seen the child version of Hiccup when they landed or had dismissed it, believing it to be a trick of the mind.

Stoick reveled in having Little Hiccup home. He tried doing things right this time. After the council meeting and a little chiefing to make sure everything was in order, he spent the rest of the evening with his son while Gustav went home to see his family and Dagur did a quick trip to Berserk to check on his people. Hiccup felt a little out of sorts by all the attention his father gave him, between the camping the day before and the now always-home-on-time-to-take-care-of-my-boy. He liked it but Stoick wasn't interested in planning Johann's capture, he just wanted his son to be happy and childlike like he had been on the Edge before heading back to Berk. The problem was, as Hiccup grew older his mind began returning to it's grown up state. And the older he got the more anxious became.

Stoick didn't notice any of this, not at first. He gave Hiccup more hugs than he ever did when Hiccup was truly young. Constantly told his son how proud of him he was and how much he loved him, and often spent every night sleeping in Hiccup's room on the floor as if afraid he might one day wake up and Hiccup would be back to normal and he had missed out on another chance to make things right. It was endearing and annoying as hell.

Dagur noticed Hiccup's anxiety. It was thick enough to carve a knife through it. When Stoick was off chiefing the village, Dagur took it upon himself to watch over Hiccup. This often meant Gustav was there, too, as Hiccup's "bodyguard". Both Dagur and Hiccup rolled their eyes at such a notion but neither had the heart to tell Gustav to go away.

As the eldest of the three, Dagur took it upon himself to be the cook. Hiccup didn't mind, he had eaten Dagur's food before and while it wasn't nearly as good as Heather's cooking, it wasn't the worst he'd ever eaten.

Days had passed since returning to Berk and Hiccup was now thirteen. He missed the other riders but had kept quiet, knowing he couldn't go back to the Edge just yet. He had warned the other riders not to say anything about him to Johann if he happened to show up there before coming to Berk. He didn't give them much details other than he suspected Johann may be working with the Hunters and to act as if he was still missing. Which meant Fishlegs would be in hiding because he couldn't act to save his life and Astrid would have to keep herself in check. She already didn't trust Johann but had been pretty good at keeping it to herself. The twins would most likely act either normal or overact, Hiccup wasn't sure which was worse. Heather was already gone back to Berserk which left Snotlout as the true star of the Edge and let him try out his acting chops again. With luck Astrid would keep them all under control. But these were minor worries. The real one was the one he was standing on.

So far nothing felt wrong with his left leg. It was still the same as it had been the last two weeks, but it was only a matter of time now before it vanished as if never existing. Only a matter of time before smooth freckled flesh turn twisted and scarred tissue that would run from below his knee all the way up his thigh. Two more years if he aged normally, only one more dag under the influence of the potion. He flexed his toes, refusing to wear boots even on the cold floor.

"Hiccup?" Gustav asked, noting the now younger boy seemed listless as he slowly stirred the mixture Dagur had given him for flatbread. It smelt different from what Hiccup was used to but he had said nothing ad he worked, his thoughts on his impending doom. Gustav took the bowl and spoon and passed it to Dagur. "Hey, you okay H?"

Hiccup glanced up with large emerald eyes. "Can I stop growing now? I mean I hated being thirteen with my voice not knowing if it should be high or low and just squeaking all the time but at least I had two legs. All I have to do is adjust Toothless's hardness and…"

Gustav gave him a confused look, having never had Hiccup turn to him for a problem before, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why Hiccup would want to stay thirteen forever.

"Relax, Hiccup," Dagur soothed as the food he was cooking sizzled on a pan over the fire. He carefully turned it to make sure it had an even sear. "It's only a few more days and then no more growing pains. You'll be back to your Hiccupy self and smooching Astrid in no time."

Hiccup rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It's not growing pains or even 'smooching' Astrid that worries me. It's this." He showed off his left foot and wiggled his toes. "In case you forgot, I lost this at fifteen."

"Maybe you won't this time," Dagur answered with a shrug, trying to appear not worried. But he frowned at his skillet as he worked.

"What on Odin's green earth make you think it won't suddenly vanished like it suddenly came back?" Hiccup retorted, utterly miserable. He leaned into Toothless when the Nightfury came to check on him, worried by the tone in his voice.

"Here," Dagur said, handing him a strip of seared cod. "Try this and tell me if I put in too much salt." He handed Gustav a piece as well.

Hiccup's nose twitched at the smell. It wasn't quite jerky but it didn't smell or look quite fishy either. He took a bite, chewed slowly, then swallowed.

"Well?" Dagur asked expectantly.

Gustav was coughing off to the side and went for the jug of water on the table, chugging down half of it. Dagur watched him in surprise whole Hiccup calmly set aside the rest of his cod.

"It's okay," he said, shooting Gustav a look to knock it off. The other rider gave him a confused look.

Dagur frowned at them both. "Truth, Hiccup. You know I can't stand lies."

Hiccup sighed as Toothless stole the rest of the fish strip. "Okay. A little too much salt, not enough lemon and it should have cooked for at least another minute, the middle was raw, but next time on lower heat, the outside was a little too crispy. And I would have added a pinch or rosemary."

Dagur made a face then glanced from Hiccup to Gustav then back. "Lower heat and rosemary?" he muttered more to himself than the two boys as he turned back to what he was working on. He removed the skillet from the fire and was about to pour the bread mix in a pan when a thought occurred to him that might help get Hiccup's mind off his anxiety.

"How would you make the bread better?" he asked, removing the large spoon from the mixture.

"Cinnamon?" Hiccup responded, turning toward Dagur, hoping the Berserker wasn't mad. He gave a surprised gasp when he sudden received a glob of bread mix to the face while Dagur gave him a cheeky grin. "What was that for?" he demanded, wiping his face.

The disgruntle look on Hiccup's face made Gustav laugh. Hiccup glared at him before flicking some of the batter at him.

"Hey!" Gustav yelled only for Dagur to flick a spoon full at him as well. "That's it, you two asked for it!" He dove for the bowl in Dagur's hands but the Berserker was faster, dodging to one side. But Gustav managed to get one hand inside and wiped it in Dagur's red hair.

Next thing Hiccup knew his father's kitchen became a war zone as batter and half cooked fish were flung everywhere. Toothless happily caught the fish, gobbling it down greedily and then chasing after Hiccup to clean up the batter even as more batter was being thrown and then flour and water. Any food became a weapon. Hiccup knew where everything was kept and quickly acquired a large arsenal. Gustav managed to make a fort to hide behind, or more percisely, pulled a few high back chairs together that offered enough shelter while Dagur flung batter and flour at them, laughing like a loon. Hiccup giggled hysterically while Gustav laughed and Toothless slurped up batter. It was the most fun Hiccup had since the gang had the big food fight on Vanaheim.

"What if the name of Odin!" Stoick bellowed when he stepped into his hut, hoping to spend a little time with his son. He just missed being hit with a hastily made slop mix. "ENOUGH!"

"Uh…shit," Gustav yelped, stepping out from behind Stoick's large chair that was now covered in goo.

"Sorry, Dad," Hiccup apologized, coming out from his hiding spot. He was soaked and covered head to toe in water, flour, batter and whatever else had been thrown at him. Toothless happily licked at it.

"Wait…wait…I know how to fix this," Dagur declared, not at all perturbed by Stoick's sudden appearance. His hair was matted in goo and it was likely to take ages to get it all out but he didn't seem to care.

Stoick gave him a hard glare as the younger chief approached him. He was only given a moment's notice before suddenly having a face full of goo. Dagur chuckled but when Stoick just stared at him stony face, he shied back with sudden worry. Everyone fell deathly silent.

Stoick wiped the gunk off his face. "Dagur," he started, his voice low and dangerous. "I misjudged you. I honestly think you're a bad influence on my son."

It was Hiccup who burst into laughter and to Stoick great surprise, he grabbed a pile of batter and goo, walked up to Dagur and planted it in the Berserker's face. "He is! He absolutely is!" he declared, which had Dagur laughing and returning fire. And then Gustav was back in on it.

Stoick threw up his hands in defeat. Short of jumping into the middle this mess there was no breaking it up. Despite the mess, Hiccup was having a blast. And as much as it would please him to throw Dagur in the brig for that little stunt, he wasn't going to. Not right now. After Hiccup was back to himself THEN he'd throw Dagur in the brig for a few hours until he calmed down again. Maybe he'll throw all three in just for good measure. A few hours in the brig never hurt anyone. Until then Stoick was going to have a few drinks with Gobber and try to get this goop out of his beard before Toothless tried to lick him clean as he was the boys, although seeing the Nightfury pinning all three boys to clean them was an amusing sight. Even Dagur was squealing like an oversize child now.

"Clean this mess up," Stoick ordered as he stomped out of his hut. All he got in answer was more laughter.

It took ten times longer to clean the hut than it had to mess it up but the boys worked hard to get it back to how it should have been. Dagur wasn't the best house keeper but once he got started he didn't stop until it was done. Gustav stayed until it was clean then took off to take care of himself. By then Stoick had returned to make sure the boys had a "proper" meal and that the house was pristine. That was why Dagur worked so hard, he refused to listen to a lecture if he could help it. He even made sure Hiccup bathed and was squeaky clean before tending to himself.

Everything was going great until Hiccup was about to go to bed. During the day he had grown another year. He was afraid to go to bed, knowing it wasn't long before he would be fifteen again. He wasn't wrong.

Dagur was asleep on a roll on the floor when the first cry echoed throughout the room, wakening him. He jolted awake with a start only to hear Hiccup scream again.

"Hiccup!" he yelled, staggering to his feet and rushing to the bed.

Hiccup was thrashing under his blanket, twisting and turning and tangling up his legs in the covers. Bruises suddenly appeared on his freckled face and burns appeared on his pale arms. Toothless warbled worriedly, trying to wake Hiccup with a large paw. But there was no waking him. Dagur didn't bother trying to wake Hiccup up. He yanked off the blanket, inspecting his left leg to see if it was changing, before scooping him up and sitting him across his lap as he sat on the bed. By then Stoick was in the loft, hoping to calm his son.

There was no calming Hiccup. His body twisted and contorting against Dagur, his left leg jerking unnaturally.

"It's okay, it's okay, Hiccup," Dagur soothed, watching in horror as Hiccup leg magically snapped, the sound of bone breaking chilling Dagur. Hiccup calmed a moment later as his foot seemingly disappeared. "There we go. See? You're hood now."

"No," Stoick warned, giving Hiccup some foul smelling concoction to ease the pain. "That was his leg snapping in the fall. Not the amputation. This is just beginning."

Sure enough Hiccup began screaming again less than a minute later. Stoick was forced to put him in an induced coma, thanks to medicine Gothi had prepared for this very moment, when the pain of a saw surgically cutting through bone would make the initial break feel like a bee sting in comparison. Hiccup collapsed in Dagur's arms. He still thrashed and cried out for the first few minutes before finally stilling and slipping fully into the coma. Dagur stroked his sweaty hair and cooed softly. Guilt filled him for not seeing how much Hiccup had suffered in order to bring peace between Vikings and dragons. Had he known… He shook his head and held the youth tightly. He couldn't change the past only work toward a better future for both their tribes.


	16. Chapter 16

Hiccup remained in an induced coma for the better part of the next day. It should have only lasted an hour at most, his rapid growth pushing the medicine out of his system shortly after his left foot had vanished and the stump healed back to the way it had been before Krogan drugged him. But the sudden agony of losing his leg all over again had put a strain on Hiccup's mind and while his body may have healed quickly enough, the rest of him struggled to cope. Dagur watched over him worriedly, thankful the riders hadn't been there the witness this a second time. He had a new respect for them, especially Astrid, who no doubt stood by Hiccup's side as he did now. Had she been there when Hiccup's leg had initially snapped? Did she hold Hiccup while the flesh was sliced away from the shattered bone so it could be amputated properly and shaft form to cover it? Did she assist in sewing skin back together to form the stump and stop the bleeding? Dagur didn't know much about the amputation process but what he had witnessed that night had left a scar unlike any he felt before. He absently wondered how many of the riders may have been involved that fateful day when Hiccup had originally lost his leg and how it had effected them. No doubt it was why even Snotlout, who had tormented Hiccup long ago, was now so protective of him. Guilt hit him even more as he realized that Hiccup had given up so much not only to protect his tribe but all of the Archipelago when he faced off against the Red Death, including the Berserkers. And Dagur's pride had sent them to war rather than simply taking to Stoick like a mature chieftain and learning the truth, or even listening to Hiccup when Toothless revealed himself rather than getting mad and lashing out. He had been a fool. So much could have been different had he only learned how to listen to other people instead of jumping to conclusions and listening to people like Johann who had spread so many rumors, none of which were true.

He made sure Hiccup was covered in a warm fur before leaving the hut to stretch his legs. Gustav immediately took over guard duty. Toothless refused to leave Hiccup's side and warbled sadly when his human refused to wake up. Dagur tried to coax him to go outside with him but there was no budging a depressed Nightfury. Stoick was in and out constantly, trying to deal with his chief duties and be an attentive father. Gobber and Spitelout handled anything that didn't immediate require their chief. And Gothi anxiously checked on Hiccup almost every hour. There were times when the hut was a little too crowded for Dagur's liking.

He took a stroll along the cliffs not far from Stoick's hut. Most of the Hooligans were still weary of him and kept their distance. Dagur didn't mind. He wasn't a people person and considering the damage he had done to the village at one time of another – like almost totally demolishing Astrid's parents place – it was probably better not to engage the town folk unless he had to. Thinking of Astrid, he glanced toward the new Hofferson hut. He should send her an update and let her know Hiccup was okay and past the stage where he lost his leg, again happy she wasn't there to go through all that a second time, no matter how quick it had been. He was about to find a Terrible Terror to send her a letter when he spotted a familiar ship approaching from the horizon. His blood ran cold.

"Johann," he muttered to himself. Instinct and anger took hold of him before he could even consider a calming meditation.

He darted back to the village, aiming straight for the forge and Hiccup's workshop in the back. He didn't hear Gobber or the questions the blacksmith, all he knew was that Hiccup kept his intentions in the back workshop and that if he was going to find anything powerful enough to take out Johann's ship it would be back there. He rummaged through crates and shelves until he found a crossbow with a magnified sight attached, a weapon Hiccup had once talked about that was great for long distance shot, that boosted a spring mechanism rather than a traditional string. Dagur had no clue if it would do the job or if he should simply take Sleuther and sink the merchant ship but at that moment he didn't care. He wasn't letting Johann on Berk or anywhere near Hiccup.

People stared at him as he ran toward the highest point where he could get a clear shot. He lay on his stomach on the grassy edge several hundred feet from where Johann would have to pass in order to the dock his ship and waited for the ship to get closer. The bolts slid into the shaft with ease and the tension on the spring was tight. All he had to do was aim for a head shot and Johann would no longer be a threat. A quick and easy assassination. Johann would no longer betray another person. Hiccup would be safe, Heather, the riders, their tribes. His finger slowly tightened as Johann came within range.

He froze when a large hand descended onto his shoulder. He hadn't heard anyone approached, his focus entirely on his target, but when he looked up he met Stoick's sharp gaze as the man took the crossbow from him.

"This is not the way," Stoick said sternly, oddly quiet for a man of his size. "You're on my island. We do this my way."

"But Hiccup," he began.

"Hiccup will be alright," Stoick assured. "Johann deserves a fair trial."

Dagur stared at him for a long time before sighing. "Alright," he agreed, sitting up. He didn't agree with the elder chief but this wasn't Berserker. He had to let Stoick handle this in his own way, but he didn't have to like it. The best thing he could do was return to Hiccup and guard him in case Johann tried anything.

. . .

"Ah Berk, the jewel of the Archipelago," Johann greeted anxious buyers as his ship slipped into it's rightful spot at the pier. He smiled brightly as men and women and even small child loaded onto his ship to buy his new wears and make trade of stuff they no longer needed or wanted. Berk was far from the richest island on his route but it was the one he liked visiting most often. He conducted business as he always did, grinning widely as Gobber checked out his latest shipment of scrap iron the make sure no Smokebreaths were nesting in the pile before signalling for someone to lift the pellet off the ship by the over crane system. "So Mr. Gobber, where might Chief Stoick be. I brought him that new axe from Mongolia he and I spoke of."

There was a strangely sour look on the Blacksmith's face when he turned toward Johann and the trader ducked his head meekly as if he may have offended the other man.

"Dealing with issues on the Edge," Gobber answered, his attention shifting to a roll of silk. "He's been gone over a week. May not be back for a while. All I know it has something to do with the Hunters and there's supposed to being a Thing with all the Archipelago chiefs when he gets back. Just between you and me, something's happened to Hiccup. I haven't heard hide nor hair of him in weeks and that boy writes home constantly."

"Oh dear! I hope it's nothing serious," Johann gasped, concern echoing through his voice.

"Serious enough to keep Stoick away."

"Ah…that cannot be good. Perhaps I will forego my usual stay," Johann offered, his face neutral.

"Nah, Stoick would want you to stay," Gobber insisted, his usual charm returning as he purchased the silk. "Have a hot meal and a tankard of mead. Better than spending every day at sea. Besides, it'll be quiet with no twins or Snotlout causing chaos."

It was appealing. Johann hesitated for only a moment more. He really couldn't turn it down. In the twenty some years he had posed as a trader he had never turned down a night on Berk where he could have a hot meal and strong mead and hot bath in the natural springs just outside the village. They were things that reminded him of home and kept him doing what he had to do. And Gobber was always good company. They had spun many a tale together.

A few hours later he had finished up shop and met with Gobber at the forge. Of all the people of Berk, Gobber was his favorite. They talked, the joked around, got drunk together and enjoyed each other's company to the fullest. He never would have expected what was to come.

In was in the midst of telling a particular tale of wrangling a sea serpent when the Great Hall became oddly silent. He thought perhaps Stoick had returned crestfallen at the loss of his only son and decided to continue on with his story to not draw attention to himself. And sure enough Stoick did cross the Great Hall to join his brother at the head table and talked in hushed voices. Nothing out of the ordinary, or so Johann thought.

He felt the airs on the back of his neck raise as the mood within the hall shifted. Nothing seemed unusual when Johann did a quick sweep of the hall, villagers still eating and chattering away. But something felt off and Johann had learned years ago to follow his instinct. He went to move his right hand off the table and reach for the dagger on his belt when Gobber grabbed his wrist. He gave the blacksmith a surprised look.

"I wouldn't," Gobber warned, his voice no longer friendly but dangerously low.

Johann's brows furrowed and he tried to jerk his hand free but Gobber was far stronger.

An all too familiar click and thud, click and thud crossed the wooden floor as the two men stared at each other. For a moment Johann dismissed the sound as his mind playing tricks or another Viking with a wooden prosthetic, even though the click was distinctly metal.

"Hello, Johann," a familiar voice greeted, sending a chill down the trader's spine.

He looked away from Gobber with bated breath as a ghost stood before him, dressed in leather armor with an honor guard and two chieftains flanking him. The boy was a teen again, slightly younger than he was before the potion hit him but definitely not a child anymore. Johann gave him wide innocent eyes, unsure what was going on as he slipped a hand under the table to reach for a secondary blade in his boot. If Krogan could not kill one small child then he'd do it himself.

"Don't," Hiccup said simply, sensing what he was going for.

Johann's hand stilled and he gave his best smile, still feigning innocence. "Master Hiccup, I thought you were on Dragon's Edge."

"Obviously I'm not," Hiccup answered, his word curt. "I don't want to cause anymore of a scene then necessary, Johann. Please come with us."

"Have I done something to offend you?" Johann asked, playing the role of the meek trader.

The young man closed his eyes and took a deep breath, looking worn and unwell. Whatever had restored him was obviously still working it's way through him. He wasn't as strong as he appeared. "Johann, I won't ask again," he warned, the guards shifting to grab the trader.

Johann's eyes narrowed. "No, you won't." He yanked his arm free of Gobber, grabbed the knife from his belt and lunged for Hiccup.

Stoick moved faster, pulling his son out of the way as Dagur's axe blocked the blow before kicking Johann back. The guise of a harmless trader fell away as Johann showed his true colors, easily defending himself when Spitelout and the honor guard went to subdue him. It took four men to disarm the trader and another two to hold him down long enough to get him in irons. Villagers came to help, many checking on Hiccup while others carted Johann off to the brig, unsure of what exactly happened but knowing the trader had attacked their future chief, something no one would stand for.

Hiccup watched in stunned silence, still groggy from being forced awake by Dagur and unable to believe what had just happened. It was all like a strange messed up dream. He felt his father take his elbow and lead him to the head table, making him sit in his rightful spot, as if to prove to the rest of the village that he was indeed alive and well. Alive maybe. Well, not so much. If anything he felt sick to his stomach. Johann really did want him dead. There was no mistaking it now.


	17. Chapter 17

The trial was unlike any Berk had seen before and one very few witnessed. It was held behind closed doors with only the council, Stoick, Dagur and Hiccup in attendance, that evening. Hiccup was still struggling with grogginess, the drug that had induced his coma still tugging at his consciousness. He sat in his father's throne, granted the right of overseer since he was the offended party. The throne felt too large, even with the fur lining it. Or maybe that made it worse because it was next to impossible to keep his eyes open. He was actually thankful for the strong black beverage his uncle gave him to try and help keep him awake. Induced comas were hard to come out of when pulled out of it as suddenly as he had. Shocking ice water mixed with a Berserker screaming in his ear was no way to start the day.

On the table next to him sat the Dragon Eye and Viggo's note book. Hiccup had actually forgotten about them the closer he got to being fifteen, the fear of losing his left foot overriding his natural curiosity. Now he had Berk's best scholars transferring everything in Viggo's book to another, copying every single word and sketch so that both books were exact. There was no piece of information Hiccup wanted missed. He would do it himself if he could see straight and his hands didn't shake. He had been able to keep himself under control when he faced off against Johann earlier. Now it was a fight to do so again. It would help if his body would stop tingling long enough to get it under control, but that may have been the brew. Spitelout had warned it would be strong and if it didn't wake him up mentally it would physically. It brought about a strange buzzing feeling throughout him. At least it was warm.

Stoick stayed closed to his, a comforting hand on his shoulder as they waited for Hiccup, knowing his son wasn't yet ready for this trial and how powerful Gothi's medicine could be. In all honesty it could have waited a few more days if it weren't for the villagers asking so many questions that Stoick could not yet answer. They waited long enough for Hiccup to compose himself before nodding to Spitelout to bring Johann in.

Hiccup immediately sat up straighter, looking stronger than he felt. His eyes narrowed as he met Johann's, a man he had known all his life and had trusted fully, even when Johann was being mysterious.

The trader was brought before him and forced to his knees.

"State your full name," Stoick ordered.

Johann had returned to the timid, sniveling persona he usually displayed. "Johann of the Emerald Isles. Chief Stoick, you know me. We have been in business decades."

"Your real name, Johann," Hiccup told him, both hands gripping the arms of his throne. "No more lies of tricks. It's time you came clean with us."

"Master Hiccup, I have no idea what you are talking about," Johann answered before turning to Stoick pleadingly. "Chief Stoick, the boy is obviously unwell. He's not making sense. I'm a simple merchant, just as I've always been. I do not understand this rouse to capture me. Have I not always been faithful to you? Found the most exotic of items for both you and you son? Provided intel when…"

"Exactly when they needed it?" asked Dagur, reminding Johann he was there as well. "How many times, Johann? How many times did you come to me with intel on Berk and then go to Berk with intel on me?"

The trader balked at the accusation. "I do not take side, Chief Dagur."

"How many time did you manipulate my son and his riders into a trap?" Stoick demanded.

Johann turned to him in shock. "Never. I provided information. I never sent them on any mission. If there was a trap it was not my doing." He looked back and forth between the gather council, pleading with his eyes for someone, anyone to take his side.

"Then why did you attack Hiccup the moment he asked you to come with us?" Stoick asked calmly.

"I…"

"Trader Johann," Hiccup began, his voice soft but commanding as he leaned forward. "Or is it Chief Johann?"

The man before him jerked at the title and his eyes darkened as he met Hiccup's gaze. "I am not a chieftain."

"But you command the Hunters," Hiccup countered. "Even Viggo Grimborn."

Johann shook his head and gave a low annoyed growl that was completely unlike him. "Stoick, he is unwell. I don't know where he's getting these demented ideas from, perhaps the company he now choices to keep." He gave Dagur a glare before once more turning to Stoick. "But I have served you many years. I even helped search for your beloved Valka. Why would I betray you now? What would I have to gain from joining the unruly likes of the Hunters?"

Stoick's face was hard but he was also questioning his son's logic.

"To find the King of Dragons," Hiccup suddenly announced, picking up Viggo's note book and holding it in one hand for the trader to see. "Viggo found it, did you know that? He has everything right here. The location and everything you've been looking for, all right here. He wrote it down that night he cared for me. And he told me the secret of the Eye, who built it and why. He even told me why you sent us to the ship gave yard, because he knew I would find the Dragon Eye and that only a Hiccup could retrieve it. That's why he gave them to me to hide…from you after you order Krogan to kill us."

Johann's eyes widened at the sight of the notebook. "Give that to me!" he snapped, trying to lunge forward to get the book. The guards pulled him back and held him down. "The Eye does not belong to you, boy!"

Hiccup kept his cool. "Then tell us who you really are."

Instead Johann only glared at him. "You have no idea what is coming, boy. WHO is coming. I spent years searching for the King of All Dragons. Give me the Eye and book or Berk and all of the Archipelago will be destroyed because of you!" He struggled against the guards, trying to get to Hiccup but it was no use.

"He's crazier than a loon," Dagur muttered, in awe of hoe hard Johann fought, no longer portraying the meek and timid trader. There was a warrior hidden under all that. Someone who no doubt killed many times in the past while pretending to be something he was not.

The traitor was dragged back to his cell, refusing to answer anymore questions unless Hiccup surrendered the Dragon Eye and Viggo's notebook, neither of which the youth would give up. Stoick came to a decision he did not like but one that would assure his son's safety and had Johann sent to the Amber Slavelands, instructing the warden of the massive prison to keep Johann under lock and key, and that he was far more dangerous than he appeared. It was not the ideal place to send anyone but few had ever escape and even less had lived to tell the tale.

The grogginess Hiccup felt finally went away after sleeping nearly another full day. When he awoke he was back to normal, his mind clear and body just as it had been before Krogan drugged him. His was a mix of emotions, something his assured would fade in time. But it felt as if he was living multiple points in his life, his grown up self, the young frightened teen afraid of losing his left foot again, and the child that had spent less than twenty-four hours with Viggo Grimborn. They all clashed together, mingling to give Hiccup a new perceptive, namely on a pair of Hunter brothers.

"Hey, babe," a sweet voice said, startling him out of his thoughts as a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.

For a moment he stood in shock before slowly turning around to face a bright smile that seemed to melt away the anxiety he had been feeling since leaving the Edge. "Astrid," he breathed before pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers in a much needed, almost desperate kiss. "Gods, I've missed you," he whispered when they parted.

She smiled lovingly up at him. "It's only been a couple of days," she teased, although she felt the same.

"It was a life time," Hiccup countered, and to him it had been. A good three weeks since they last held each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Three weeks since they were able to say they were betrothed and not fear that Hiccup may vanish or never grow up or sudden grow old and wither away. "What are doing here?" she asked, happy to have her in his arms but surprised she was home at the same time.

"Dagur Terror mailed me after Johann was captured," she explained. "He said, and I quote 'get your pale Ast back to Berk and take care of boy'. Remind me to beat him for that. It's a horrible nickname to use as a pun."

Hiccup chuckled at that. He never should have called Astrid Ast for short, especially in front of Dagur who would exploit such a nickname and then try to act all innocent over it. "When did you get back?"

"Not long. Your Dad told me you had been sleeping a lot because of your leg." She glanced down as if the make sure the left foot was really got and prosthetic back in place. "How you doing?"

"I finally stopped aging and the meds wore off so good." He took her hand and led her out of his childhood home. They took turns catching each other up on what was going on as they strolled through town together while their dragons played.

"You're breathing better," she noted, tugging his hand. "Not so much wheezing."

He glanced at her in surprise. "I never noticed."

She gave a small nod. "Neither did until you became small. It was actually Dagur who pointed it out. He kept slipping pillow under your head. I never saw him so afraid…not even when I held my axe to his throat." She squeezed his fingers. "He really does love you, and not in that crazy obsessed way he used to."

"He's a good big brother," Hiccup agreed. "I just never really gave him a chance to be before."

They both fell silent, deep in their own thoughts. Astrid didn't tell him what Dagur had confessed to her the night she had panicked at the thought of Hiccup not being restored to his proper age. She kept that between her and Dagur. It was the first time either of them had opened up to the other. It felt almost sacred.

They found Dagur by the stables, looking out of sorts without his armor and wearing new tunic and trousers. His usually tousled hair brushed was tied back in a tight braid and he had finally shaven off the patchy beard. He glanced up when he heard Hiccup's footsteps, a broad smile on his face.

"Hey, you," he greeted merrily.

"Hey," Hiccup returned, smiling as he eyed the pack strapped to Sleuther's saddle. "Heading home?"

Dagur actually blushed a little. "Nah, going to…eh visit an old friend for a day or two. See how things go." His cheeks grew a brighter shade of red causing Hiccup to raise a questioning brow. "Yeah," Dagur continued, not meeting his gaze. "That's why I got Ast to come back. You're doing good now so…"

"Are you alright, you look like you might faint," Hiccup asked, concern filling him.

"Berserkers don't faint," Dagur retorted before taking a deep breath and calming down. With a sigh he tried to face the two riders. "How do I look?"

"Like someone about to step in front of a firing squad," Hiccup answered, seeing how nervous Dagur was more than the way he was dressed.

The Berserker chief sent him a glare before turning to Astrid. The shield maiden studied him for a moment before smiling. "You look great," she assured. "Especially clean shaven."

"Maybe I should change the tunic," Dagur pondered, tugging at the fabric.

"You're fine. Go," Astrid insisted, giving him a playful shove toward his dragon.

"Are you sure?" Dagur insisted. "I've never actually done this before."

"And you never will if you don't get going." Nonetheless she took a moment to tuck some loose strands of his hair back into the braid, straightened his collar and gave him another once over. "You'll do great."

The smile he gave her was similar to how he looked at Heather and Hiccup, an adoring big brother. He gave her hand a squeeze, smiled at Hiccup, then mounted Sleuther. "Take care of him while I'm gone," he requested before he and his dragon took to the skies.

"Am I missing something?" Hiccup asked as he wrapped an arm around Astrid's waist.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Remember hoe I used to worry about Dagur's obsessiveness over you?"

"Yeah?"

"Well now it's only of the big brother variety."

He glanced down at her, utterly confused. "Okay…"

She gave him a big grin. "Dagur has a date…with Thugory of the Meathead tribe. Heather and I set it up. The two are perfect together."

"Oh!"

It made sense. Dagur and Thugory were very similar in many ways and much closer to the same age and temperament, which could go either way. But they had been close friends once upon a time when they were young. Hiccup wished them both well in what was sure to be an interesting relationship.

He wrapped his arms around Astrid and buried his face in her hair, happy to be able to continue his own relationship. One there was one thing he had to do now that he was back to normal. One thing he had to be certain of before he could finally relax.


	18. Chapter 18

Hiccup had come to the conclusion he may have been handling the Hunters the wrong way. In fact he was sure of it after discovering Johann was a traitor and the way Viggo had gone out of his was to protect him. Their war, just like the one with the Berserker and Outcasts, had been orchestrated by Johann. Yes, they had different views on dragons – Hiccup was completely against killing them and would continue to fight for them – but there had to be a better way to deal with them than constantly going into battle. Of course the Hunters had retreated after Viggo's supposed death and it was mainly the Fliers and Krogan they were having issues with but that didn't mean the war with the Hunters was over just on hold.

Hiccup studied the Dragon Eye in his hands. He and Fishlegs had spent every hour copying every image and every bit of text into notebooks. They went through every lens Hiccup had managed to steal from Viggo. Every scrap of information they could find was written down until they ran out of lenses and available flame.

"Hiccup, why are you in such a rush?" Astrid asked, rubbing his tense shoulders. He had only been back to normal a few days but had consumed himself completely in work. "You have the Eye back, you can take your time studying it. You don't even have to make your own anymore."

He patted her hand and gave her a tired smile. "It's kind of hard to explain," he said, unable to really go into detail. There were a few things that had begun to bother him after being rescued. While he was young they lingered in the back of his mind but now they were front and center and could no longer be ignored. Guilt ate at him, a strange sort of guilt he only felt once before and had fought hard to forget. Now it just ate at him until he had no choice but to face it head on and hope he wasn't making a mistake.

He waited until late evening, a day after sensing out a Terror mail before slipping away from Berk with Toothless. He could have waited another week, when he was back on the Edge with the gang and no one would have noticed but he felt a bit of security leaving his father a note detailing where he was going, who he was meeting up with and his expected time back with a memo pleading not to panic unless he wasn't back by the allotted time. Of course, Stoick would panic and have the riders gathered to go after his son, but he'd wait to precisely the marked time before going completely insane with worry. He felt a little guilty keeping what he was about to do secret but he knew people would stop him if he told anyone.

"Come on, bud. Let's get some air," he called to Toothless quietly as he placed the Dragon Eye and Viggo's notebook in the satchel he had stolen from Viggo. "With luck we'll be there and back before anyone notices were gone."

Toothless was just happy to be able to fly with his human again. Flying with Stoick or Dagur or even Astrid was fine but nothing beat flying with his Hiccup. He happily bathed Hiccup in a tongue bath that had the youth in a fit of giggles, before letting the young man climb onto the saddle. The slipped out the big window over Hiccup's bed and out into the night sky. It was freedom for both of them as they hit speeds no other dragon and rider could manage. Normally Hiccup would be happy to play with the other dragons at night and skim over the waves but he had a mission to accomplish and he wanted it done with immediately. They flew for a few hours north east of Berk toward the mainland until they reached a small island where a red flag blew in the cool breeze. Hiccup saw no one when Toothless touched the ground and absently wondered if he was in the wrong place. It immediately felt foolish for going with only Toothless as backup. He should have at least brought Astrid or waited for Dagur to return from Meathead Island. He held the satchel close, suddenly feeling small and childlike, as if he hadn't fully grown back into his body.

This was stupid. He should go back home. What in Helheim had possessed him to do this on his own so soon after returning to his true age? He worried his lower lip as he turned away from the flag. For all he knew this could be a trick. What if he didn't show up? What if he had an army?

"Hello, Little One," a gruff voice greeted from behind him.

Hiccup's shoulders tensed and a fear ran through him for a breath moment before he managed to push it away. His back straightened and any fear he felt was pushed aside. "So that's what you're going to call me now?" he asked, his voice guarded but with a small edge of mirth. He hesitated only a moment before turning to face his companion. "No brat or Haddock?"

"Oh I could call you that but I was rather fond of the Little One who sat on my lap and actually behaved," the man retorted, his bald head reflecting the moonlight. "Would have preferred they kept you that way, less trouble." But there was a rare smile on the man's face and it made Hiccup relax, if only a little.

He gave a shrug. "How did you put it, Ryker? A life for a life?"

Ryker stepped a little closer. "Aye," he answered sounding slightly amused. He could kill the rider and dragon right now if he so wanted but he wouldn't. He had a debt to pay, one he never thought he would owe to anyone.

It was an unusual affair he had arranged with Hiccup. It was Dagur's fault really but Hiccup had been dragged in on it do the debt owing was directed toward the both of them. It had happened because of Viggo and the failed Operation Shell Shock. Viggo had been willing to sacrifice not only his men but also his own brother in order to stop the riders from interfering with their business. The cost of life that day would have been far worse if Dagur had not found the men floundering in the sea and had the foresight to suddenly have Sleuther drop logs in the water. He joked that he meant for the logs to hit the Hunters and finish them off for daring to attack the riders and injuring his beloved Shattermaster who ended up being grounded after losing a wing, but he had in fact saved their lives. Many of the Hunters had been found and saved by their tribesmen and carried off in what few remaining ships survived the battle. A few, like Ryker, had washed up on shore. They should have been thrown in the brig or sent to the Amber Isles but the riders were only young adults with no real prison and unable to support more than a handful of prisoners at best. Those that were unconscious and not seriously injured were flown to the nearest Hunter ship and dumped off. All but Ryker and two others.

One man had died of his injuries despite Hiccup's best efforts. He and the riders used every ounce of their first aid training to help the survivors if only enough to get them off the island. But internal bleeding was not something they were equipped for. The season remained in a coma for nearly a week before dying as well. By then not only Hiccup but Dagur was in a near panic to at least save one Hunter. They took turns working day and night to save Ryker. It was then Hiccup learned that Dagur and Ryker had been much more than allies when they worked together. They had been lovers. It was so strange watching Dagur and Ryker interact. Ryker had been enraged and had to be chained down to keep him from not only hurting the riders but also himself. Dagur had fussed over him, lectured him, complained and spent pretty much every free minute either looking after the Hunter or his dragons – he had gained two.

"You're a fool," Ryker had snarled when Hiccup had taken over his treatment, Dagur having worn himself out. "You're all fools. When Viggo…"

"Viggo's dead," Hiccup told him, more sorry for the man's loss than angry at being yelled at.

Ryker stared at him in utter shock. "You're lying," he said, searching Hiccup's face.

It was the first time since Viggo fell into the volcano that he really stopped to think about the Hunter chief's death. He knelt next to Ryker to clean the wound on his side. "You didn't betray him, did you? This attack was coordinated."

Ryker stared at the ceiling, a frown covering his face. He didn't answer, he didn't need to. Hiccup knew. He worked silently, planning to change the bandages and then get him more food. While his injuries were extensive they weren't as bad as the other two me, there were intense enough to require stitches and constant cleaning. Hiccup worked in silence as he often did.

"How?" Ryker finally asked. There was a shimmer of tears in the corner of his eyes. It was like something broke inside him.

Hiccup stared at him in surprise. He never expected to see anyone like this, let alone Ryker Grimborn. He didn't know how to comfort the man, what he could say to make things better so he told the truth, detailing what had happened, how Viggo had taken Astrid hostage in exchange for the Dragon Eye, and how he had thrown the Eye into the volcano so Viggo couldn't use it to harm anymore dragons, and then how Viggo had tried to catch it but had fallen into the volcano. "I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this. I just wanted to protect dragons."

Ryker only closed his eyes, never responding. Hiccup left him but he came back, always taking over when Dagur needed a break. Ryker barely talked to him, either sleeping or glaring at the ceiling. It took almost three weeks before he was healed enough to be released. Dagur had found a small boat and sail and brought it to the shore not far from the cave. Hiccup loaded it with supplies, and that night, while Ryker slept, he unlocked the chains and set him free. There were no words, no trying to understand one another. Hiccup set him free knowing that the man would most likely return to his way of life and that they would most likely go back to war. He did not expect to find a final message waiting for him. A simple "Life for a life." He thought it meant he would kill Hiccup to avenge Viggo. He didn't expect a life debt.

He hadn't seen Ryker again until Viggo asked him to watch over him as a child. He didn't expect the man to ever smile at him or truly talk to him let alone play with him and treat him as his own child. It was a strange feeling. That short time Ryker watched over him finally gave him an insight to why Ryker did what he did, how he provided for his own family, and that he was a father first, brother and Hunter second.

"How is he?" Hiccup asked, curiosity getting the best of him. He had no idea if Viggo had escaped Krogan and Johann had not been forth coming on the issue, especially considering Viggo had lost the Dragon Eye to Hiccup again.

Ryker only smiled. "Home. He actually came home and has been caring for his people like a good chief." He folded his thick arms across his chest. "You should have stayed as a child, you had quite an impact on him. Maybe more than you ever had before. Less sass, too."

Hiccup raised a brow. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not."

Ryker just kept smiling. "Why did you ask me here, Little One?"

The youth gave a snort. "I just…I wanted to make sure Viggo made it out safe. And to thank you. You were the one that released the captured dragons?"

"I'm sure I have no idea what you were talking about."

"I bet." Hiccup glanced around. They were still alone but it felt as if they were being watched. He smiled when Toothless rubbed up against him, remaining oddly calm around Ryker. He ran a hand over smooth black scales, feeling his anxiety slip away. For a moment he debated over what he had come to do, his fingers flexing over the leather satchel. He could very well be doing the wrong thing, endangering more dragons and possibly allowing the Hunters to find the King of Dragon that Johann had been searching for. But it could also bring peace between their tribes.

With a deep breath he held out the satchel to Ryker. "I took this from him. I thought I'd give it back."

Surprised, Ryker took the satchel and looked inside then glanced back at Hiccup. "Why would you return these?" he asked in surprise.

Hiccup didn't answer. He wasn't quite how to explain it. All he knew was that he was tired of fighting but he would continue if he must. "A peace offering," was all he could say as he climbed onto Toothless's back. He paused he a moment more, still unsure. "Tell him thank you. Actually, I should thank you both."

Ryker gave a curt nod as he slung the satchel over one shoulder. "My debts repaid. If we face off again…"

"I know, stay out of your way," Hiccup answered. "Come on, Toothless. Let's go home."

They flew off without another word, a surprisingly heavy weight off of Hiccup's shoulders.

Ryker watched in silence, his hand wrapped tightly around the strap, as they flew off toward Berk. "You were right," he said as Viggo stepped out of the shadows to join him. "He's much more than we first thought. A little odd that he would give back the Dragon Eye, though." He passed the satchel to Viggo. His gaze met his brother's. "You could have kept him, raised him as your own."

"He's far too clever for that." He lifted the Dragon Eye out of the satchel, surprised as well that Hiccup would return it. No doubt he got everything he needed from it but the artifact was technically the boy's birthright and a potentially dangerous weapon. It made no sense for Hiccup to give it up. His thumb moved over the intricate design. It was then he noted something amiss. It felt slightly differently. He studied it carefully before grinning to himself and looking off in the direction Hiccup had gone.

"What's wrong?" Ryker asked.

"Nothing," Viggo assured, slipping the device back in the bag.

In the distance Hiccup held several pieces of the Dragon Eye. He had dismantled the entire device and removed the pieces that made it work before putting the remaining pieces back together. It was a risky move but when it was back together the missing pieces were unnoticeable. It was the very pieces he needed to make his new Dragon Eye work. Now Viggo could no longer use the original and would have to rely on his notes, the very same ones Hiccup had copied and then made alterations to Viggo's book. There was no finding the King of All Dragons now. It was safe as were any other new species of dragon. With luck Viggo would never notice. It was all Hiccup could think to do to end the war without anyone else, dragon or man being killed. It may be far fetched but for the first time since encountering the Hunters, Hiccup felt at peace and that was a pretty good feeling.

Fin


End file.
